If you own an EV or a hybrid and you were planning to bring it on a ferry this month, stop and call the shipping line first. As of this week, at least three domestic operators will turn you away at the ramp.
This is a hard one to write about, so we will be straight with you. On 9 September the RoRo vessel MV June Aster caught fire on its way to Coron, Palawan. The Philippine Coast Guard has reported 77 dead, 43 survivors and eight still missing. That is the context for everything below, and no amount of EV advocacy makes it a small story.
What the shipping lines actually did
Montenegro Shipping Lines issued a memorandum on 16 September instructing all vessel masters not to allow any electric or hybrid electric vehicle aboard — passenger-driven or carried as cargo, on every route. Terminal, ticketing and loading staff were told to identify vehicles before boarding and refuse them until further notice.
Starhorse Shipping Lines followed with a fleet-wide restriction on 18 September, and its wording is worth reading carefully. The company said domestic RoRo vessels are “not yet equipped to manage” a lithium battery fire — enclosed or semi-enclosed vehicle decks, firefighting systems that struggle to cool a cell in thermal runaway, and the risk of reignition after a fire appears to be out. It also said plainly: “This is a precaution. It is not a judgment on electric mobility, and it is not permanent by design.”
Island Water has imposed a similar restriction on its passenger vessels.
Two things most coverage has buried. First, hybrids and plug-in hybrids are included. If you drive a Sealion 6 DM-i, a Corolla Cross HEV or any other hybrid — anything with a traction battery — you are in scope, not just full BEV owners. Second, the ban covers unaccompanied cargo carriage too on Montenegro, so “just ship the car separately” is not a workaround.
What is still unknown
The fire has not been pinned on the EV. The June Aster was carrying an electric vehicle, five motorcycles, a forklift, a pickup truck and other cargo. Investigators say the fire began in the cargo hold; MARINA says survivors heard two successive explosions. The Department of Energy has explicitly cautioned against concluding the EV was the cause while the investigation is open.
Montenegro’s own memo says initial information indicated the explosion “may have originated from” an EV. “May have” is doing a lot of work in that sentence. The operators are within their rights to be cautious with 77 people dead — but a precaution taken before a finding is a precaution, not a verdict, and it should be read as one.
What happens next
The DOE is now working with the Bureau of Fire Protection and MARINA on safety standards for carrying EVs and HEVs on passenger vessels, folded into preparations for the 2026 Fire Code implementing rules. DOE Energy Utilization Management Bureau director Patrick Aquino confirmed an interagency review of transport rules is underway, and Energy Secretary Sharon Garin framed it as protecting passengers without stalling electric mobility.
Worth knowing: current Philippine regulations do not specifically prohibit EVs aboard domestic vessels. These bans are company policy filling a regulatory gap, which is why they arrived one operator at a time and why they can lift the same way. Expect the eventual rules to look like international practice — state-of-charge limits before boarding, designated deck positions, thermal monitoring — rather than a blanket ban. It is the same pattern we described when the DOE started writing the EVIDA charging rules: policy catching up to vehicles already on the road.
What you should actually do
- Call the operator before you book. Policies changed three times in one week. Do not rely on a forum post, a Facebook comment, or this article — confirm with the line for your specific route and sailing date.
- Assume hybrids count. Ticketing staff are being told to check, and “it’s only a hybrid” is not an argument that will get you on the ramp.
- Have a plan B for Visayas and Palawan trips. Fly and rent, drive only as far as the last land route, or move the trip. Turning up at Batangas port and finding out at the gate is the worst version of this.
- Do not panic about your car. Nothing here says your EV is unsafe in your garage, and nothing about it changes how you charge at home.
On that last point we will be honest rather than reassuring: a RoRo vehicle deck and a properly installed home charger are not the same fire problem. A ship’s deck is an enclosed steel box, packed, at sea, hours from help. Your garage has a dedicated circuit, an RCD, a breaker sized to the load and a door you can open. If your installation was done properly, this news is not about you. If it was done by “kilala ko may alam d’yan” with an extension cord, that was already worth fixing before any of this happened.
We install chargers. We are not a maritime authority, and we are not going to pretend this story has a neat lesson that ends with buying something from us.
Planning a home charger installation, or want a second opinion on one that was already done? Get a written quote — no obligation — or message us on WhatsApp at 0993 158 1936.
Sources
- Shipping lines ban EVs, hybrids from ferries after deadly Coron ship fire — Newsbytes.PH
- Montenegro Lines bans EVs on board as a precaution after the MV June Aster tragedy — Top Gear Philippines
- DOE, BFP, MARINA work on safety rules for EVs aboard vessels — The Daily Chronicle
- Montenegro Shipping bans carriage of electric vehicles following ferry fire — Baird Maritime
Is MOEV legit? A quick legit check
If you found us through Reddit or a Facebook EV owners group and want to do a legit check before letting anyone near your electrical panel — good, you should. MOEV Solutions is a DOE-accredited EVCS Service, Supplier and Operator (Cert. DOE-EUMB-ANA-20250708001, National Accreditation Level), our installers are licensed electricians, and you can see real completed jobs on our projects page and our Google reviews. Ask us for the certificate and the electrician’s license before work starts — we send them every time. If you have a question from a Reddit thread you want answered by an actual installer, message us.