Burning Cargo: Why Shipping Giants Are Turning Their Backs on Electric Vehicles

They won’t tell you this on the evening news—but some of the world’s largest cargo companies are now flat-out refusing to transport electric vehicles. Why? One chilling reason: the extreme fire hazard posed by lithium-ion batteries.

For years, EVs were paraded as the sleek saviors of the climate crisis. Polished ads. Green incentives. Politicians gushing about a “sustainable future.” But behind the curtain, something far more volatile is sparking fear—literally.

Lithium-ion batteries, the heart and soul of electric cars, have a nasty little secret. When they burn, they really burn—hotter, longer, and far more viciously than your average engine fire. It’s not just smoke and scorched metal; it’s toxic gas, uncontrollable flames, and sometimes, spontaneous combustion. One spark can turn a cargo deck into a floating inferno. And these fires? They’re damn near impossible to put out.

Shipping giants are catching on. And they’re quietly pulling the plug.

Some cargo companies have already implemented outright bans. Others are tiptoeing around the issue, layering on so many restrictions that transporting EVs is basically off the table. Insurance costs are ballooning. Fireproof containers are being debated. Risk assessments are now red-flagging EV shipments. And still… silence from the EV pushers.

Let that settle in. The very companies paid to move goods across the planet—no strangers to danger—are saying “No thanks” to electric cars. Not oil tankers. Not munitions. Electric. Cars.

Ask yourself: if these logistical titans—the ones who routinely haul hazardous materials across oceans—are suddenly backing away from EVs, what does that say about the real risk? What aren’t we being told?

The narrative of “clean and safe” is cracking. Under the glossy surface of the green revolution lies something far more combustible. We’ve been sold the future… but at what cost?

And when the next container ship goes up in flames, who will be held accountable?

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