News on February 20, recently, the cargo ship fire accident carrying nearly 4,000 new Volkswagen Group cars has attracted much attention, because the lithium battery of electric vehicles carried on the freighter has a fire risk, which has aggravated the difficulty of extinguishing the fire.
As of February 19, three days after the cargo ship caught fire, the fire had not been extinguished, but fortunately the accident did not cause casualties.
It is reported that the freighter carries a total of 3965 Volkswagen Group cars, including many luxury models. A Volkswagen spokesman said the freighter included about 1,100 Porsches and 189 Bentleys, as well as a small number of Audi and Lamborghini brand models.
After the incident, the relevant brand dealers have informed the owners in the United States that their vehicles may not be delivered on time.
On February 16, a large freighter "Felicity Ace" departing from Germany on February 10 and scheduled to arrive in Davisville, the United States, caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean, carrying nearly 4,000 Volkswagen Group vehicles.
According to the pictures, the giant cargo ship has been shrouded in smoke, and then the Portuguese side sent a helicopter to the rescue, saving 22 crew members, but the giant ship is in a "unmanned" state.
The current news is that lithium-ion batteries may be at risk of fire due to the electric vehicles on board the "Felicity Ace" freighter, and this fire requires specialized equipment to extinguish.
Unlike fuel vehicles, it is more difficult to extinguish the fire after a fire in an electric vehicle. The internal temperature of the lithium battery on the electric vehicle may be as high as 800 degrees or more after combustion, which is much higher than the 400 degrees of gasoline. At the same time, even in the case of an open flame extinguished, the reaction inside the battery may not be terminated, which leads to the possibility of re-ignition.
Therefore, lithium battery fires require the use of professional fire extinguishing equipment and specialized processes for fire fighting, and avoid direct internal contact in any high-voltage components to prevent potentially caused electric shocks.
According to the data, the "Felicity Ace" freighter was built in 2005, with a load capacity of 17,738 tons, a length of 656 feet (about 199 meters), a width of 104 feet (about 31.6 meters), and the owner is one of Japan's largest shipping companies, Merchant Marine Mitsui (MOL).
Merchant Marine Mitsui issued an announcement on February 19 saying it apologized for the impact of the accident. At present, the freighter has not leaked oil, the situation is stable, and all 22 crew members have been safely evacuated.
The company has now set up an accident handling team and has sent two large tugboats equipped with firefighting equipment to support it.