Burning car freighter to be towed

2023-07-29 08:09:03

After salvage specialists were on board the burning freighter off the Dutch coast for the first time, the “Fremantle Highway” is now to be towed to a safe place. According to the infrastructure and water authority, this might already happen this weekend, as the Dutch news agency ANP reported on Saturday night. The experts had previously managed to establish a stable connection to a tugboat.

Should the towing succeed, the danger of an oil spill for the Wadden Sea and the inhabitants of the islands would be averted for the time being. The freighter should be brought to a temporary anchorage further east, 16 kilometers north of the island of Schiermonnikoog, the ANP reported, citing the authority. When the towing of the freighter should start depends, among other things, on the smoke development and the weather forecast. The towing process is expected to take between twelve and 14 hours. After checking the situation, the ship is said to be towed to a port at some point. It was therefore still unclear which that would be.

According to information from the coast guard, the fire on the freighter had decreased significantly on Friday, the smoke had also decreased and the temperatures had dropped. But the fire is still raging, the Coast Guard said.

The salvors must first check the stability of the ship. It’s unclear how long the freighter can withstand the heat. Breaking apart or capsizing should be avoided at all costs. According to the report, the infrastructure and water authority considers the ship to be stable and intact below the waterline.

The freighter with around 3,800 cars on board was on its way from Bremerhaven to Singapore and was around 30 kilometers north of the Wadden Sea island of Ameland when the fire broke out on Wednesday night. According to the coast guard, it is now further west, around 23 kilometers north of Terschelling. One person died during the evacuation of the crew.

The source of the fire might be the battery of an electric car. However, this has not yet been confirmed. The freighter, which flies the Panamanian flag, had loaded far more electric cars than initially reported. Namely almost 500 instead of 25.

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