Ship Carrying EVs Abandoned in Pacific After Catching Fire

Lithium batteries must have some charge, otherwise they break down chemically. Typically, it's around 40-50% charge, but varies with the exact chemistry of the battery.

And, yes, higher charge means more violent reaction to fire and being punctured for most lithium battery chemistries.

I'm not sure about other chemistries, like NiMH and sodium, that have been used in EVs. But lithium is the most popular.

Do EV batteries burn less if not charged? Do they intentionally give them a low charge in transit just to maintain battery health and move them around to reduce the risk if so?

Also, at what point do you just call it a loss and scuttle the ship so that you're at least not releasing everything into the atmosphere? Or can they just flood certain compartments to extinguish the fire?