There is no question that climate change is having a detrimental effect on our planet and our way of life. If we are smart, we’ll transition to a fossil-fuel-free world as quickly and safely as we can.
The Vineyard, through guidance from the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, is on its way. Like Massachusetts, the hope is to be powered by renewable energy completely within the next 15 years, a bold but commendable target.
A significant part of that plan is transitioning our cars to electric, with transportation representing a major part of our carbon emissions. And there is a long way to go. According to state statistics, less than 5 percent of Island cars are electric. With the market starting to shift, we will likely start to see more and more electric cars, but there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done, and humps that will help ease our consumer concerns.
What is troubling and likely not helping the cause is a Steamship Authority rigid policy regarding the transportation of damaged electric vehicles.
Based on guidance from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Steamship policy states that electric or hybrid cars with a damaged battery cannot ride the ferry. Electric vehicles that are damaged in general may not be able to get aboard either. The policy grants vessel captains and agents the authority to decide if a vehicle is damaged enough not to allow it aboard.
Of course the Steamship is right to be cautious. While rare, electric car batteries can cause serious fires that are exceedingly difficult to extinguish. If there were even one fire from an electric car on a ferry, the consequences could be dire for everyone on board.
But while cautious, the Steamship doesn’t need to be a detriment to our commitment of going fossil-fuel-free.
Battery fires are exceedingly rare. The policy was based on reports that during Hurricane Ian, several Teslas burst into flames, but only after they were exposed to saltwater … for days. What are the chances of even a minuscule amount of saltwater touching the battery of a vehicle riding a Steamship ferry?
And the policy, as our reporting has indicated, could turn people off from going electric for a simple reason. As we know, there are few services available on the Island. Car mechanics, or at least car dealerships, are among the services that aren’t exactly prolific. That leaves many needing to take their car off-Island for work.
But what happens when you hit a deer, and your electric car suffers front-end damage, as was the case with one driver interviewed by The Times? With few options of getting work done on the Island, and with ferry operators not wanting to transport the vehicle, we’re in a bind.
Also problematic: There’s a lot of subjectivity in the Steamship policy. As written, a ferry captain or agent who is probably not an expert in electric car batteries, and who probably has only moments to inspect the car, makes the decision. Should we not be relying on expert opinions instead?
What we suggest is a better idea is that any vehicle owner with a damaged car should have the option to bring the vehicle to a certified mechanic, maybe a special, even town, official who is certified. Instead of a ferry agent, an expert can determine whether the car is safe for transit. And this isn’t out of the question. There are federal programs that can offer certifications for this very practice.
So we applaud the Steamship for being cautious, but it’s too much. We are hopeful that our Steamship representatives will revisit this policy, and find a way to not deter Islanders from purchasing an electric vehicle.
Well, firstly, a captain has and must have the right to deny boarding to anybody and anything that he/she deems detrimental to the safety of the vessel, no ifs or buts. One might seek counseling to support the decision but it is the captain’s prerogative.
We try to make green decisions, we have solar on the roof, a heat pump, and wanted to replace an old vehicle with a plug-in hybrid in the fall. I even bought a home charger for the driveway (Still boxed in the cellar). Alas we didn’t find a car shop that was willing to do maintenance on the electric parts, and then the lady was hit by a deer……needless to say we opted for a gas burner again.
Sad but true.
I have a plug-in hybrid. I was planning to make my next vehicle purchase fully electric. Based on this information, I absolutely will not. No one to blame, an uncontrolled fire on a ferry would be a disaster. Either the technology to control electric battery vehicle fires needs to be improved or the battery manufacturers need to make their batteries more fire resistant.
Ted, with only 500 electric car fires EVER, WORLDWIDE, and about 500 gasoline car fires every single day in the US, what makes you think that battery manufacturers need to make batteries more fire resistant?
To clarify, nobody has to do anything. However, as long as I live on the Island, I won’t buy an electric vehicle until the SSA captains, whose decisions I respect, feel comfortable transporting disabled EVs. The issue appears to be that gasoline fires can be contained, EV fires although rate, once started are difficult to contain.
Firstly, the SSA/Coast Guard determines what the vessels will carry, not Captains, no ifs or buts.
There is no shortage of Captains who could drag their feet on transporting EV’s due to their political beliefs. See Covid -19
An average car has over twice the thermal capability of an EV.
The average ferry boat has over 300 gallons of gasoline gasoline in thirty different tanks.
Gasoline explodes, EV’s do not.
Should gasoline be prohibited from SSA vessels?
Are you aware of any EV fires aboard ferry boats?
Gasoline explodes in the movies. When it burns inside an engine, it conflagrates, because it has been atomized and evenly mixed with air. As a liquid in a tank, it’s surprisingly stable.
A pail of gasoline on any day that isn’t sweltering, one can pitch a lit cigarette into it, and it will not burn, it will put the butt out just as cleanly as a pail of water. This is because only gases can participate in combustion; liquids must evaporate and solids must offgas (pyrolize) before they can burn.
More importantly, we have tools to deal with a gasoline fire. There is simply nothing we can do about a burning EV except let it burn, and try to keep the flames from spreading.
There can be no ambiguity on this. It may be less frequent, but if an EV does go up on the boat, the boat is going to sink, and everyone on board is going for a swim or worse, unless by some lucky coincidence,the burning EV is first in line, and there’s a big truck right behind it, that can push the burning EV off the end and into the ocean. It will continue to bleed heat even underwater, heat that would cause continued combustion if there were oxygen, but at least it’s no longer the boat’s problem.
Total risk equals likelihood multiplied by severity. Although the likelihood is low, the severity in this case is extreme.
An EV with a damaged battery should not be allowed on the steamship under any circumstance except a dedicated hazmat run, with nothing else on the boat except the aforementioned truck poised to push it into the water.
Just in case you missed it, here is a letter
from David :
https://www.mvtimes.com/2025/01/29/ssa-needs-shore-damage-vehicle-policy/
In the days of horses and buggies,
and when gasoline vehicles were new,
people had to mail order their gasoline.
There were no car mechanics, you had to
fix your own car.
Just because there are not enough
electric car mechanics and
services on island today, doesn’t mean
that there won’t be in the future.
We will move past this transition and
everyone will drive electric cars.
Ferry service around the world will
transform too.
If we need different fire guards, they will
be implemented (and I don’t imply that
ferries will ban electric vehicles).
Let’s look to Asia for possible solutions
where electric vehicles are mandatory
in some areas.
Not only are electric cars nearly free
to operate when paired with your own
solar panels, electric cars are fun to drive! 😁
Don’t drive through 5 corners when flooded with salt water
or your electric car might catch fire !
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