HONOLULU (KHON2) — Buying or shipping an electric vehicle just got a lot harder in Hawaiʻi.
One of the state’s main shippers says it won’t carry EVs anymore, citing fire risk at sea. It caught the auto and energy industries here by surprise and could put consumers in a pinch. But a major competitor is still shipping.
Effective today, Matson won’t take a booking to ship electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles. They say it’s “due to increasing concern for the safety of transporting vehicles powered by large lithium-ion batteries.”
This is from a carrier that moves about 30,000 vehicles to and from Hawaiʻi every year, a growing number of EVs and hybrids.
The carrier tells local affiliate KHON2 there have not been any E.V. fire incidents aboard Matson ships serving Hawaiʻi.
But the move comes just weeks after the cargo ship Morning Midas went ablaze and eventually capsized and sank 450 miles southwest of Adak, Alaska. It had more than 3,000 vehicles aboard – 70 fully electric and nearly 700 hybrid — and smoke was first seen coming from the EV car deck.
The head of the Hawaiʻi Energy Office, who had not been informed of Matson’s cutoff prior to today’s announcement, points out that new and undamaged EV batteries are generally safe.
“It really takes, I think, a lot of credible investigation to really understand the causes of these things,” said Mark Glick of the Hawaiʻi Energy Office. “It’s probably a little premature, but, you know, we’re still pleased that Pasha and others are continuing to ship EVs.”
Car carrier Pasha still lists EVs as eligible for shipment to Hawaiʻi, as long as the batteries are carrying a low charge and set to Power Save or Shipping Mode. Pasha serves Hawaiʻi with a substantial roll-on-roll-off vessel capacity, with roots as a car carrier.
“Pasha is a different kind of operator than Matson, said Michael Hansen of the Hawaiʻi Shippers Council. “With that fleet inventory that Pasha has, and with their long history of being a vehicle carrier, they may have solutions to the battery issue that may allow them to keep operating.”
There is no timetable from Matson for when they will resume taking EV bookings. They are saying only that they support developing industry fire-risk standards for batteries at sea, and they plan to resume EV shipping again when appropriate safety solutions are implemented.
Lithium batteries are considered hazardous materials, and the U.S. Coast Guard for years has urged shippers to proceed with caution and be vigilant, especially after findings that direct exposure to salt water can cause battery fires.
“They have to let the fire burn itself out with these batteries. And this can present a very bad, dangerous situation on board the ship,” said Glick.
A new Hawaiʻi law, Act 229, was just signed to create a state EV battery Task Force.
“We’ll provide hard evidence about where things are, and come up with, I think, what will be, you know, appropriate Best Practices moving forward,” Glick added.
KHON2 asked Matson if they had consulted with the auto sector before the suspension. A spokesperson said, “We communicated with all auto manufacturers that do business with Matson.”
Several contacts among local dealerships tell KHON2 it came as a surprise to them, one saying, “This could be a game changer in the Hawaiʻi Industry.”
“Especially with the state wanting to convert more of the traffic here to EV traffic, that will pose a problem for them,” said Hansen.
“As long as there are other options, I think we’re, we’re feeling less concerned, but obviously, they’re not only a massive player in Hawaiʻi, but they’re a massive player in shipping,” said Glick.
“Hawaiʻi has one of the highest rates of adoption for battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in the country. This adoption has been touted as helping the state achieve its renewable energy goals. HADA dealers will continue to serve consumers who seek to purchase all types of electric vehicles. At this time, HADA is monitoring the developments announced by Matson and believes that there are no serious impacts expected,” said Melissa Pavlicek, Executive Director of the Hawaiʻi Automobile Dealers Association.
