Why is it more dangerous to ship Lithium batteries by plane than on a ship?
Hmmm , ships go missing all the time , wonder if Li-ion batteries are to blame ?
because if they go thermal runaway they can’t pull over on a cloud and dump the burning cargo if needed 
sure it happens on ships too
But cork vs dirt dart….
I don’t think they issue cargo pilots parachutes 
Industry needs to step in with independently verified ignition sustainability tests and an approved cell wrapper that can not easily be duplicated. While many data sheets prove that real name brand quality naked fully charged cells that become grounded will not ignite (in open air) many of them have been counterfeited dozens of times in China. Perhaps a specially designed blast proof/fire proof aircraft cargo container would also be a solution.
+1
We also can’t rely on individuals or businesses being forthright in declaring what they are shipping. If it will be against the rules to ship by air then parcels will be mislabeled to suit the shippers needs not he airlines needs. Human behavior. There must be a better way to engineer those containers to contain a fire or an explosion. Sobering thought about those planes and ships burning.
I was just reading in Popular Mechanics about a new battery chemistry for lithium batteries that is a 3D matrix with greatly increased capacity and no risk of fire from shorting. Be nice when those come to life.
@ mrsdnf: Dead sailors claim no wages :-)
@ Warhawk: Container ships has no way to dump any cargo while at sea. How would they even get to a container if it is not in the top row??
@ FP: That would be nice. But everything is copied over and over again out there. As long as it is wild east country how would they enforce it? But the blast proof container is interesting. Since they already have those.
And now a conundrum: If they are banned from flights... How will travellers bring their cell phones and phablets and tablets and lap tops. They will have to come up with teleportation for those. But if they do that then we can all teleport to the final destination and airplanes will be obsolete :-)
And what back up batteries will they put in the black boxes and other digital instruments?
Fire fighter plane?
I do understand what you mean…but the crew on a ship can bob in the water like corks if need be…airplane pilots and crew become dirt darts if/when fire destroys control surfaces and systems and the plane no longer flies (some planes got lucky and landed, some haven’t)
True, Li Ion batts in ALOT of stuff we use…any regulation or building of special fireproof boxes…yadda yadda will only drive up the cost for the consumers in the long run
Here’s a Link to the Pop Mech article about Prieto Battery
Perhaps a comeback for the AA battery ? ( C cells and perhaps D cells - when was the last time you bought C or D batteries - been years for me )