Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) is seeking approximately $273,000 from CargoLoop in a lawsuit concerning a fire involving electric vehicles aboard the MSC Carlotta.

The dispute relates to two containers supplied by CargoLoop and loaded with used battery-powered vehicles that had previously been damaged. The cargo was placed aboard the vessel in California in August 2023 for shipment to Lithuania.

Cargo documents listed the vehicles’ ages and dangerous goods classification, and MSC accepted the shipment.

The vehicles were packed by CargoLoop inside 40-foot high-cube containers using wooden racks. The loading arrangement allowed at least one vehicle to be positioned above another.

According to MSC’s complaint, an explosion and fire occurred in one of the containers while the MSC Carlotta was sailing off Baja California during the early hours of 2 September 2023. The fire then spread to a second CargoLoop container carrying electric vehicles.

Several nearby containers were damaged either by the blaze or by water used during firefighting. The crew extinguished the fire, and the vessel diverted to Mexico so the affected containers could be discharged, inspected and restowed.

According to the complaint, investigators traced the likely origin of the fire to an area containing a 2018 Tesla Model S positioned above a 2012 Ford Focus.

MSC alleges that the wooden racking may have failed during the voyage, causing the Tesla Model S to collapse onto the Ford Focus and potentially damage a battery pack. The carrier also claims that similar racking failure was identified in another CargoLoop container on the same voyage.

The complaint also presents alternative possible causes. MSC alleges that batteries may have been damaged during forklift handling or that required precautions, including disconnecting vehicle batteries, may not have been followed.

CargoLoop has not publicly responded to the allegations.