On a car carrier, water on the deck is its own emergency — EV-X keeps it contained
PCTCs carry thousands of vehicles on large, undivided decks. Hosing an EV fire across that deck reduces tyre friction and can shift cargo — a stability risk on a high-centre-of-gravity hull. So the usual containment tactic is itself a hazard. EVstinguish EV-X confines the entire water volume inside the barrier, submerging the battery without flooding the deck or diverting the voyage.
Why batteries reignite at all: the EV fire safety guide →
Boundary cooling barely works on a car carrier
Most car carriers rely on CO2 or foam, and neither ends thermal runaway. What makes a PCTC distinct is what happens next: the standard containment tactic is largely unavailable to you. The shell is inaccessible, there are no transverse bulkheads to hold a boundary against, and putting water on the deck reduces tyre-to-deck friction and can trigger a cargo shift on a high-centre-of-gravity hull. That leaves a dangerous gap between “fire knocked down” and “fire actually resolved” — wider here than on any other vessel type. Why no fixed system closes it →
Two constraints that define the PCTC response
Large undivided fire zones, vehicles 10 cm apart
Modern PCTCs use large, undivided fire zones with vehicles as little as 10 cm apart laterally. A fire can spread fast and access to the burning unit is difficult. The response has to work in the actual space available — not an open bay.
- EV-X deploys in 40 cm side / 20 cm end clearance
- Lifting cushions push adjacent vehicles outward to create room
- Goes wherever the crew can physically reach
Water across the deck can shift cargo or induce a list
On a high-centre-of-gravity hull, water across the deck reduces tyre friction and can shift cargo or induce a list. EV-X confines its ~3.5 tonnes of water inside the barrier, filling only to the level that submerges the battery — the deck stays dry.
- All water contained — no free surface across the deck
- Eliminates the cargo-shift and list risk of open hosing
- ~3.5 t used, versus up to 90,000 L applied conventionally
Contained resolution — no flood, no diversion
EV-X sits inside the IUMI “fixed-first” logic: your fixed system fights the fire, EV-X removes the reignition the fixed system cannot.
Submerge the battery, hold the voyage
After suppression, two crew wrap the vehicle and flood the barrier until the battery is under water. Reignition is eliminated and the vehicle can stay safely contained until port — no need to divert from route. The barrier is reusable and HF-acid resistant; its open top vents gas upward rather than trapping it like a fire blanket.
- Reignition risk removed — battery state of charge near zero at 72 h
- One EV-X unit per vehicle deck, stored in a fire locker
- No class or flag-state approval required to carry or deploy
Why underwriters are watching this segment
Every recent headline total-loss involving EV cargo has been a car carrier — Felicity Ace (2022), Fremantle Highway (2023) and Morning Midas (2025). The pattern is consistent: once a fire reaches EV cargo, conventional suppression manages it but does not end it, and the vessel is left burning, adrift or under salvage for days. See the incident record →
IUMI's 2025 position is that operators should proactively explore improved firefighting capability and be able to show they considered the post-suppression phase. For a PCTC operator that is now a documentation question as much as an operational one: carrying an independently tested containment system, with the DBI report and crew-training records on file, is a direct way to evidence it to underwriters, P&I and flag-state authorities.
Car-carrier operators ask
Specifications, clearance and deployment questions are answered on the EV-X system page.
Won't adding water risk the cargo shift you're trying to avoid?
Does EV-X replace our CO2 or foam system?
Do we have to divert to a port of refuge?
How many units does a car carrier need?
Request a vessel-specific technical review
We assess deck layout, vehicle spacing, water supply, deck-load and SMS fit for your PCTC or car-carrier
fleet — a due-diligence step, not a purchase commitment. The full DBI test report and video are available on request.
Prefer to talk? Email tech@sepcotech.com
· +45 6916 2400
Request sent
Thank you — your enquiry is on its way to the SepcoTech maritime safety team. We'll respond within one business day.