Ferrying a Lithium Battery
If a Lithium battery has never been charged, and is not connected to anything, it would be perfectly safe to transport it.
If it HAS been charged, then it becomes a problem. You can't empty it: a Lithium Cobalt battery will not recover from dead flat.
You could pack it in such a manner and such a place that you could ensure that it is disconnected and never gets hotter than 50 degrees Celsius, which would "lessen" the risk that it might spontaneously catch fire, but would not remove the possibility entirely.
I suspect the replacements will have to travel by sea (as deck cargo) or rail (but not through any tunnels...)
Cheers