China doesn't have the best track record when it comes to batteries for things like electric cars and scooters. In fact, some of these Chinese lithium batteries have an unpleasant tendency to become explodey. Granted, this is a problem with batteries like this in general, but China's quality control standards in general are, shall we say, not the greatest. From steel to batteries, China just doesn't quite measure up.

Case in point: Now a ship carrying 3,000 cars from China to Mexico, 800 of them electric vehicles, is off the coast of Alaska, abandoned, burning, and spewing toxic smoke. How "green" is that?

The crew of a cargo ship carrying 3,000 vehicles to Mexico, including 800 electric vehicles, abandoned ship after they could not control a fire aboard the vessel in waters off Alaska’s Aleutian island chain.

A large plume of smoke was initially seen at the ship’s stern coming from the deck loaded with electric vehicles Tuesday, according to U.S. Coast Guard photos and a Wednesday statement from the ship’s management company, London-based Zodiac Maritime.

There were no reported injuries among the 22 crew members of the Morning Midas.

No injuries are a good thing, and for that, they have the crew of another passing ship to thank. And while it's not for sure and for certain that the batteries in the electric vehicles are to blame for the fire, the nature of the blaze seems very much like the kinds of things you get when EV batteries combust, and as noted above the plume of smoke was first seen coming from the deck where the electric vehicles were loaded. And those fires burn very hot, requiring special equipment to extinguish.

The crew initiated emergency firefighting procedures with the ship’s onboard fire suppression system. But they were unable bring the flames under control.

“The relevant authorities have been notified, and we are working closely with emergency responders with a tug being deployed to support salvage and firefighting operations,” Zodiac Maritime said in a statement. “Our priorities are to ensure the continued safety of the crew and protect the marine environment.”

It is perhaps fortunate that the ship was out in the Aleutians when this happened, where there just isn't much around, rather than in a port. 

A precautionary note is in order. We do not yet know what caused this fire. We probably won't know for some time. As of this writing, the United States Coast Guard is working with Zodiac Maritime in deciding how and when the abandoned freighter will be recovered, and what will become of it. It is presumably up to Zodiac Maritime to determine if the fire's cause will be investigated and, if so, any information on that cause will be released. I'm not an expert on these things, but it doesn't appear as though the ship is in imminent danger of sinking.

It seems like a good time to buy American, and not only because of the tariffs.

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Have a look at a couple of examples of the problems China has been having with electric vehicle fires and the resulting lack of enthusiasm for buying these things:

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