Transporting electric vehicles is now part of day-to-day ferry operations – across both passenger and freight services. When an EV incident occurs on an enclosed vehicle deck, a rapid, controlled response is critical to protect people, the vessel and continuity of service.

Trusted by ferry operators to support EV fire safety across passenger and freight ferry operations:

Ferries present a specific set of operational constraints: Large numbers of vehicles are parked in close proximity on enclosed decks, often for extended periods, with no immediate access to external firefighting support while at sea.

If an EV battery fire occurs, it can be harder to control due to thermal runaway, and the potential consequences may be more severe in an onboard environment. For that reason, an EV fire needs to be handled quickly to prevent escalation and reduce the impact on wider operations.

With growing levels of EV traffic across ferries, it is critical that operators can quickly isolate and contain a suspected EV incident to protect crew, passengers and freight – and to maintain consistently high safety standards.

In this environment, EV incident containment needs to align with relevant safety requirements and recognised standards, while remaining practical, accessible and easy to integrate into established procedures.

A controlled response typically depends on:

• Rapid access to containment equipment in key onboard locations
• Straightforward deployment within the constraints of an enclosed vehicle deck
• Clear integration with existing firefighting equipment and crew procedures
• Robust storage to keep equipment protected, visible and ready for use
• Confidence through testing using recognised standards, where applicable
• Simplicity – so trained crew can act quickly under pressure

Fire Cloak™ EV Fire Blankets are engineered and manufactured in the UK, built to rigorous standards suited to demanding operational environments.

Fire Cloak™ is independently tested and certified to DIN SPEC 91489:2024-11, the toughest global safety standard for lithium battery fire containment, alongside relevant ISO and BSI standards. For ferry operators, that means a containment solution that supports rapid isolation of an EV on a busy deck, can be accessed and deployed quickly by crew, and provides confidence through independently verified performance.

Typical ferry use cases include:

• Enclosed passenger vehicle decks (RoPax)
• Freight vehicle decks (RoRo)
• Strategic access points where crew need rapid access to containment equipment

Rapid accessibility and ease of use are critical in this environment. Fire Cloak™ can be supplied in robust storage boxes that can be positioned at fixed points onboard, helping ensure the blanket is readily accessible when needed.

A typical deployment can be carried out quickly by trained crew as follows:

1. Retrieve the blanket from its storage position.
2. Move to the vehicle and prepare the approach in line with onboard safety procedures.
3. Deploy the blanket over the vehicle to support isolation and help limit fire/smoke spread.
4. Continue response actions in coordination with shipboard firefighting equipment and protocols.

Fire Cloak™ is trusted by ferry operators across the UK and internationally, including Higher Ferry, Irish Ferries, NorthLink Ferries, Pentland Ferries and SeaLink, to support EV fire safety with a rapid, controlled response on enclosed vehicle decks.

If you have a specific question about Fire Cloak™ for ferry applications that isn’t answered here, please get in touch with our team for tailored advice.

If you operate RoPax or RoRo services and transport electric vehicles as part of daily operations, Fire Cloak can support your EV incident preparedness with a practical containment solution that integrates into established onboard procedures.