Converted Nissan EV cause of fire onboard "Pearl of Scandinavia"

[dpeilow]

Any update on this? Are DFDS allowing charging again?

I'm sorry but I don't buy that it started in a plug or adapter and "spread along the cable".


Mind you this happened to another ferry operated by the same line just one month earlier.

[mpt]

German officials and the ferry said the blast appeared to have been a technical mishap.

I can't seem to find any solid post-accident investigation report.

Interestingly the Norwegian news reported the second fire to be caused by a trailer rather than an EV: http://www.safety4sea.com/article.php?id=1839

According to several news agencies it was a trailer that caught fire.

However, the owner appears to have already accepted responsibility for the second: http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/s...y-1321296.html

Danish media said yesterday, quoting the car's owner, who admitted to have caused the accident.

But, these guys are tying the truck fire in to the first fire so it seems that the first fire may have been caused by a truck. Quick, ground all trucks.

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread618212/pg1

[TEG]

http://www.vesseltracker.com/en/Ship...a-8701674.html

Since Dec 9 the 'Pearl of Scandinavia' is also carrying again vehicles, but only with reduced capacity, as the hanging car deck on starboard side will only be in use after a yard overhaul in January 2011. E-mobiles will be carried on board, but not allowed to be recharged during the transit.

http://www.shipsandharbours.com/picture/number6985.asp

From the vesseltracker web site on 19 November 2010: "It was an electric car being charged that caught fire on the car deck of the DFDS ferry Pearl of Scandinavia yesterday. It became clear shortly after the arrival at Copenhagen for discharge. The car, which was a rebuilt Nissan, ignited a couple of neighbouring cars as well as some trailers, which were partly damaged by the fire. “We are very pleased with our crew and their performance during the fire”, says Gert Jakobsen, spokesman for DFDS. “We are also happy that the cause of the fire is so clear and obvious so that we can explain to the public”, says Gert Jakobsen. The Pearl of Scandinavia will be out of service for a period of five days due to investigations on the car deck and clean up. The accommodation also needs much cleaning, as it was damaged by smoke. After the incident, charging of electric cars on board will be prohibited."

[mpt]

Unfortunate that they'll prohibit EV charging going forwards. Perhaps they'd re-consider if pukka charging stations were added.

That said; charging from the engines on a ferry isn't too environmentally sound.

[dpeilow]

Is anyone aware of a fire in a factory built EV?

Charging off the ferry engine isn't ideal, but if it allows you to make a much longer journey in an EV that would otherwise require a gasser...

[TEG]

Is anyone aware of a fire in a factory built EV?

Do we really want to dig up those sorts of incidents?

Not many, but some...

http://www.ka9q.net/ev/ev1fire.html
http://www.ka9q.net/ev/msg4.txt
http://www.tgdaily.com/trendwatch-fe...verside-campus
http://www.electricforum.com/cars/pr...-car-fire.html

[AndrewBissell]

There seems to be one credible story in there - the Gen 1 EV1 fire. The rest seem uncoroborated.

[AndrewBissell]

I can find no record of the outcome of an official investigation into the Pearl of Scandinavia fire. The EV owner rushed to accept the blame, the company communications manager was eager to agree, the media publicised it as such, and then .... Nothing. I wonder if that was the true cause?

[dpeilow]

What's interesting is that I found reports of the EV/Pearl of Scandinavia fire everywhere, from the Belfast Telegraph to the news section of my old insurance company's website.

The Lisco Gloria? Not quite so widely reported. It made the nationals but nothing like the same coverage.

[TEG]

http://www.cruisingtalk.com/dfds-fer...andinavia.html

...'Danish police confirmed that they believe a technical fault in an electric car started the fire. - The car's battery was being charged on the ship when the fire broke out.'... 'The car in question is a Nissan Qashqai. It has been converted without authorisation from a Diesel-powered car to and electric car by the Danish company Afuture. The car was heading back to Denmark after having been exhibited in Norway'...

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m.../ai_n56318752/

..."I take full responsibility for using the plug. I had not expected it to be so wet that something happened to the lead. But we can see that it did," Soren Ekelund, who owns a company that changes traditional fuel cars into electrical vehicles, told the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, or DR...

http://www.cphpost.dk/news/national/...ctric-car.html

"I reckon the short-circuit was caused by dampness, so the socket may not have been completely water tight,” Ekelund told TV2."