No, the 2026 SOLAS Amendments Did Not Restrict Electric Vehicles at Sea

If you have been quoted a higher freight rate this year and told it is because new international rules restrict how electric vehicles are carried at sea, the rules being described do not exist yet. The SOLAS amendments that entered into force on 1 January 2026 cover fire detection, video monitoring and water-based suppression on vehicle decks. They say nothing about electric vehicles. IMO regulation specific to electric vehicles is still being drafted, and is expected to enter into force on 1 January 2032 at the earliest.

What actually entered into force in January

Two IMO resolutions took effect. MSC.550(108) amended SOLAS Regulation II-2/20, which governs the protection of vehicle, special category and ro-ro spaces. MSC.555(108) amended chapters 7 and 9 of the Fire Safety Systems Code.

The substance is infrastructure on the ship. Individually identifiable fixed fire detection and alarm systems in ro-ro, vehicle and special category spaces. Effective video monitoring for continuous observation of those spaces. A fixed water-based fire-extinguishing system on weather decks intended for carrying vehicles.

The claim, and why it is wrong

The version circulating in freight marketing goes roughly like this: from 2026, updated fire protection regulations apply to ro-ro vessels carrying electric vehicles; the rules require upgraded suppression, improved ventilation and in some cases restricted deck placement for EVs; some vessels therefore carry fewer vehicles per voyage.

Three separate things are wrong with that. The amendments are not EV-specific. They do not impose deck-placement restrictions by powertrain. And they apply to new-build ships by keel-laying date rather than to the existing fleet immediately — which is precisely the fleet carrying your car this year.

So why is car freight expensive?

Because there are not enough ships, and there is more to carry. The pure car and truck carrier fleet was running close to capacity before Chinese vehicle exports scaled, and newbuild deliveries did not arrive fast enough to absorb the extra volume. That is a supply-and-demand story with a shipbuilding lead time attached, and it does not need a regulatory explanation.

It is also why the regulatory explanation is attractive to whoever is quoting you. “Rates are up because the market is tight” invites you to shop around. “Rates are up because international law changed” does not.

Does this apply to you?

It applies to anyone paying for ocean freight on a car this year, which is every reader of this publication. It applies most directly if you have been given a line-item surcharge attributed to EV regulations, and it applies whether your car is electric or not — the claim has been used to justify general rate increases.

What to ask your forwarder

• “Which resolution?” A real regulatory surcharge can name the instrument. MSC.550(108) and MSC.555(108) are the 2026 ones, and neither is EV-specific.
• “When was this vessel’s keel laid?” If it predates 1 January 2026 and it is not a ro-ro passenger ship at survey, the new-build requirements do not bind it.
• “Is this a market rate or a compliance cost?” Both are legitimate answers. Only one of them is negotiable, which is why it matters which you are being charged.
• Get the all-in figure, not the components. A quote that arrives as a base rate plus five surcharges is harder to compare than one number, and that is usually the point.

Move now or wait?

If freight out of South East Asia is what concerns you, the real pressure is in the volume rather than the rulebook — our read on Thailand’s tightening export book covers what is actually moving through Laem Chabang this year.

Freight is not on a regulatory cliff edge, so there is no rule-driven reason to rush a shipment this year. There is one genuine deadline in the near term, and it has nothing to do with electric vehicles: existing ro-ro passenger ships have to comply with the 2026 fire-safety amendments by their first survey on or after 1 January 2028. The electric-vehicle rules sit four years behind that again, expected on 1 January 2032 at the earliest. Neither is a reason to move a shipment this year.

Which means the honest advice is dull. Book on the merits of the car and the currency, and treat a 2026 regulatory surcharge as a line to question rather than a cost to accept.

Maritime regulation is set by the International Maritime Organization and implemented through flag states and classification societies. Details above reflect Lloyd’s Register’s published summary of MSC.550(108) and MSC.555(108) and IMO reporting, checked on 10 September 2026. Confirm any vessel-specific requirement with your carrier or classification society.