Battery electric vehicle (BEV) advocates rushed to absolve them of wrongdoing after Automobilwoche declared they had nothing to do with the fire that destroyed the Fremantle Highway. Their story is based on something published by Automotive Logistics stating all 500 BEVs carried by the roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) cargo ship were on the lower decks, allegedly based on another story – from NL Times – in which Peter Berdowski would have declared this. The problem is that the Boskalis CEO hasn't. The salvage company denied that it or its executives ever disclosed that information. In other words, all stories announcing that rely on a puff of nothingness.
These are the precise words Boskalis sent me:
"We are not providing a count of cars driven off or a specification of the engine type (ICE/plug-in hybrid/full EV), and please be advised that Boskalis never makes statements about the cause of a marine accident and, in this case, a fire. The cause of the fire is being investigated by the authorities and specialized investigation parties acting on behalf of insurers."
That is more than enough to realize we have no idea which vehicles escaped from the blaze. Boskalis also clearly said we will never hear it from them, which makes perfect sense. Although salvage contracts usually involve only the ship owner and the salvage company, they indirectly include the customers who were having their goods transported, such as automakers. Unless it was a legal obligation to disclose what was left in the burned ship, the decision to inform the public about what was or wasn't saved belongs to Boskalis' clients. That is what made the leaked Fremantle Highway pictures so controversial – and so revealing.
Photo: via RTL Niews/edited by autoevolution
One of these images seems to show at least one Porsche Taycan among the burned cars, which contradicts the idea that the 500 BEVs were not among the ones that burned. To be precise, we are not talking about 500 vehicles, but rather about 498 among 3,783 automobiles, some of which look like classic cars. Some estimates said 2,700 cars combusted inside the Fremantle Highway, which would have left around 1,000 vehicles to be recovered. Even that is still up to confirmation. Some of the charred car structures merged with that of the vessel, which shows how intense the blaze was.
Boskalis started removing the cars that were not consumed by the fire on August 19. The salvage company told me they are washing and off-loading all those that are in good shape from the Fremantle Highway, as you can see in the video below. These vehicles "are being parked in a designated area in the port of Eemshaven." We are yet to learn what will happen to these automobiles. It is not clear if they were affected by the seawater used to kill the fire, but journalism was undoubtedly a victim.
All this could have been avoided if anyone cared to contact Boskalis and confirm what looked like the most important information so far from the only RoRo ship that did not sink after one of these massive fires. As I said before, whether or not the blaze started with a BEV is irrelevant. What really matters in these cases is if they are also engulfed by flames. When a battery pack catches fire – on its own or due to external sources – it will be much harder to extinguish. Some fire departments drop the BEV inside a large water container and leave it there for a few days to ensure it will not reignite, but that is not possible for a ship in the middle of the ocean.
Photo: Kustwacht/Dutch Coastal Guard
Boskalis cannot disclose how many vehicles escaped the fire, but Dutch authorities eventually will. The automakers affected by the incident may also reveal the numbers, but that is very unlikely. Wherever the information comes from, what is clear at this point is that we do not have it. Without it, no conclusions are possible. Above all, no outlet should trust what others publish and draw conclusions from their stories. In journalism, you must always go to the source, regardless of the reputation of the writers. That did not happen for BEVs to be absolved.
It does not mean that the investigations will condemn these vehicles. Although that is highly doubtful, all 498 BEVs may genuinely have waited for rescue untouched in the four lower decks of the Fremantle Highway, protected by a fifth deck that was empty. As I said in previous texts about this episode, this may even become a strategy for cargo ship companies: leaving a deck without anything for it to work as a safety barrier against blazes. However, we already had leaked pictures that suggested at least one BEV burned. On top of that, no official source denied that so far.
Good stories often do not wait for you to talk to everybody you should before publishing them. It may happen that the source you need will ignore you and talk only to other outlets. None of that is an excuse for you to base your story on a story that was reportedly based on another one, especially when it is relatively easy to question and verify them. Some of journalism's major flops come from this sort of trust, which is also a way to throw the alleged successive "sources" under the bus should the information be wrong – as it probably was in this case. As frustrating as it may be for the more impatient ones, the honest answer right now is: "We don't know." When we do, we'll let you know what it is, even if it takes a while.
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