Groundbreaking Electric Tour Vessel Evacuates All Passengers Over Smoke
The world's first all-electric, zero-emissions passenger vessel conducted an emergency evacuation of hundreds of passengers on Tuesday after smoke was spotted coming from a battery compartment. No one was injured, and the operator believes that it has identified the fault.
On Tuesday afternoon, the all-electric tour boat Future of the Fjords was under way on the Aurlandsfjord, near Onstad, Norway. At about 1533 hours, the crew notified the regional emergency response center that there was smoke coming from a battery room. As a precautionary measure, the crew returned to the pier and began evacuating all 300 passengers on board. The vessel was emptied out by 1600, according to NRK, with no injuries reported.
The local fire department responded to the scene and treated it as a high-priority incident, given the risk of serious escalation if a lithium-ion battery bank were to catch on fire. Battery fires produce noxious smoke and high heat, and they are difficult to extinguish. A firefighting team entered the compartment and determined that the situation was under control, and they ventilated the space to clear out smoke.
“The potential in such incidents is dramatic,” fire team leader Tor Mikkel Tokvam told state radio outlet NRK. “When something like this happens, we take it very seriously.”
On Wednesday, the vessel's operator told local outlet Firda that the problem had been identified: a capacitor in an electrical panel had shorted out and overheated, producing smoke without starting a substantial fire.
Future of the Fjords is a 2018-built, carbon fiber-hulled tour vessel with a capacity of 400 passengers. It was the first all-electric passenger vessel ever delivered. On a full charge, it is capable of speeds of up to 16 knots for up to 2.5 hours. It recharges with shore power in as little as 20 minutes (with a specialized docking system).
Top image: Future of the Fjords (Saertex / CC BY SA 4.0)