The Facts
One crew member died and another 16 have been taken to hospital on Wednesday after a fire blazed on a cargo ship carrying some 3K cars off the Dutch coast, 30 km (18 mi) north of the island of Ameland.
The 199-meter Panama-registered Fremantle Highway was on its way from Germany to Egypt when the fire started, prompting seven crew members to jump overboard and a helicopter to airlift the remaining members of the 23-strong crew.
The Spin
Narrative A
Vehicles that use lithium-ion batteries pose a significant fire risk to cargo ships, compromising the safety of those onboard with the hazards of explosion, toxic gases, and thermal runaway. Unless the ship systems and its crew are able to handle that risk, transporting such cars poses an extraordinary risk.
Narrative B
While tragic fires onboard car-carrying vessels are frequent, such incidents only hit the headlines when involving electric vehicles. While there are obvious risks when transporting electric vehicles on ships, a recent study has concluded that the risk is about the same as conventional automobiles.