And they want one of these in every garage

[klondike]

One sailor dead and 23 evacuated from burning 18,500-tonne cargo ship carrying 3,000 cars in North Sea off The Netherlands after 'electric vehicle caught fire'

• Cargo ship was sailing from Germany to Egypt when an electric car caught fire
• Crew attempted to put the flames out themselves, with at least one being killed

At least one crew member died and several others were injured overnight after a fire broke out on a huge car carrier ship off the Dutch coast, the coastguard said.

Rescue helicopters and boats evacuated 23 crew members from the Panamanian-registered Fremantle Highway, a 18,500-tonne car-carrying vessel with almost 3,000 vehicles on-board. Officials have said there are 'many' wounded.

At least seven crew members jumped overboard and were rescued from the water, while the rest were airlifted by helicopter.

'Around midnight the Coast Guard received a report that the Fremantle Highway is on fire,' the Dutch coastguard said on its website.

'The crew tried to put out the fire themselves, but failed. Unfortunately one person died and several others were injured,' the statement added.

The coastguard said that the incident happened about 17 miles (14.5 nautical miles) north of the northern island of Ameland. Images taken from shore showed a long plume of grey smoke drifting over the sea from the stricken 650-foot ship.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12338705/One-sailor-dead-23-evacuated-burning-18-500-tonne-cargo-ship-carrying-3-000-cars-North-Sea-Holland-electric-vehicle-caught-fire.html

[Ashy]

It's very sad. If I remember correctly similar batteries caught fire and caused the crash of a jumbo jet in 2010, it's a "known problem"...

[JBR]

Hopefully, this will encourage the death of EVs, which are only being sold due to trendy eco-zealots (in government) attempting to control nature!

They're still insisting that ICE vehicles will be banned in 2030.  The fools.  How to lose an election!

[Michael Rolls]

lithium batteries - depending on the precise type - have a tendency to ignite if struck hard enough - car crash anyone?

[klondike]

Royal Mail won't accept them for posting. If the 2030 deadline gets met then a few years after that their smaller delivery vehicles will be running on them.

Some related pictures https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=electric+car+fire&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X


Dutch coast guard says major cargo blaze could last days



https://www.dw.com/en/dutch-coast-guard-says-major-cargo-blaze-could-last-days/a-66349247

[Alex]

Apart from fire risk I read a while ago that the multi storey car parks we have, may not be able to bear the weight of electric cars. A car park collapsed not so long ago in New York.

[klondike]

Plus the weight and high torque take offs causes more pot holes.

[Ashy]

Well that's convinced us, all we have to do now, is convince the politicians.

Always seems wrong to me that an idea can be so good that they have to force it on us. Like these heat pumps for example, electric cars, and 15 minute neighbourhoods should be very worrying.

[klondike]

Prime Minister "Poised to Review 2030 Ban on New Petrol Cars"

Rishi Sunak is poised to order a review of the controversial 2030 ban on new petrol cars according to Government sources, who told the Mail the Prime Minister is "open" to a rethink amid mounting concern about the impact of costly green policies on household budgets.

Signalling a shift in approach yesterday, the PM said that in the future, the U.K.'s Net Zero ambitions would be pursued in a "proportionate and pragmatic way that doesn't unnecessarily give people more hassle and more costs in their lives".
Mr. Sunak ducked questions about whether he remained committed to the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars.

But a Government source said: "It is fair to say he would be open to reviewing it. There is no review at the moment, but he wants to make sure we are always taking a proportionate and pragmatic approach, particularly as we are way ahead of a lot of other countries on a lot of this green stuff, including vehicles."

No. 10 confirmed that the Government's green pledges were being looked at again in the light of their unpopularity and potential impact on the cost of living – raising the prospect they could be ditched before the next election.

The move is a significant breakthrough for the Mail's Rethink The 2030 Petrol Car Ban campaign.

It follows the Tories' unexpected victory in last week's Uxbridge by-election, where Labour faced a backlash over Sadiq Khan's plan to expand the controversial Ulez scheme to cover the whole of Greater London.

Craig Mackinlay, Chairman of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group of Tory MPs, said the by-election result had provided a "reality check" for the Government's headlong dash to cut carbon emissions.

Mr. Mackinlay said the proposed 2030 car ban was "uniquely stupid" – and predicted it would be ditched along with other targets in order to contrast with Labour's "madcap 'Net Zero now' policies".

"Uxbridge is the first time we have had one of these green issues on the ballot paper, and the result was that by opposing it, we crept over the line," he said. "It's the first time we have had clear blue water with Labour on one of these issues and it's unlikely to be the last."

Tory MPs have piled pressure on the Government to water down its green pledges after the Uxbridge result.

https://dailysceptic.org/2023/07/26/prime-minister-poised-to-review-2030-ban-on-new-petrol-cars/

That by election that looked a cert for Labour but held because of ULEZ is a big signal to the politicians that their green policies are maybe not as popular as they thought. Especially when they hit folk in the pocket. Or people, heaven forbid, actually think about them.

[JBR]

I have always maintained that the ban on ICEs will not happen in 2030, or even in 2035.
In fact, it won't happen for several decades, if at all, mainly because we don't have the necessary infrastructure for supplying or even creating the electricity which would be needed.
Then there is the range and weight problems, which will be added to by the forthcoming protests about the mining of the minerals necessary to make the batteries and, of course, the recently publicised explosive fire risks.

[klondike]

If it does go ahead cheap Chinese imports will kill off the European car industry just as it has so many other industries already. The pollution and CO2 won't stay there entirely of course - we'll be getting some of both for free.

[Diasi]

If it does go ahead cheap Chinese imports will kill off the European car industry just as it has so many other industries already. The pollution and CO2 won't stay there entirely of course - we'll be getting some of both for free.

Indeed, as has often been said, it's like telling people move to another part of the swimming pool as someone's just pissed where they're swimming.