2023-07-29 02:21:00
Preparations to move the cargo ship still burning off the coast of the Netherlands with thousands of cars on board to a new temporary position are underway. The Dutch authorities have been trying for three days to prevent an ecological disaster.
The Fremantle Highway is “currently stable,” the Dutch national institute for water management (Rijkswaterstaat) said in a statement around 11:30 p.m. ‘The vessel is also still intact below the waterline and not tilting’.
“The temperature on board the ship has dropped sharply and the intensity and development of smoke have decreased,” he added. Salvage companies and authorities ‘have now started preparations to tow the cargo ship to an area further east than its current position’, according to the Rijkswatersaat.
This new temporary location is located ’16 km north of the island of Schiermonnikoog’, a few tens of kilometers from where it is currently located. This new position corresponds better ‘to the different scenarios and the expected weather conditions’, according to the authorities.
Unesco heritage
Operations to put out the fire had been suspended on Thursday to prevent the ship from being destabilized due to the amount of water spilled.
The Fremantle Highway, flying the Panamanian flag, is currently 23 kilometers north of the coast of the island of Terschelling, ‘between the maritime routes’, according to the coast guard. Transport company K Line, which chartered the ship, said on Friday that 3,783 new cars, including 498 electric vehicles, were on board.
The cause of the fire, first reported Tuesday shortly before midnight has not yet been made public. But according to the Japanese owner of the Fremantle Highway, the Shoei Kisen Kaisha Group, one of the electric cars on board might be the source of the fire.
The Wadden Sea, which runs along a coastal region stretching from the Netherlands to Denmark, has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and boasts a rich diversity of over 10,000 aquatic and terrestrial species.
/ATS
1690603521
#Preparations #move #burning #freighter #coast #Netherlands
