2023-08-03 18:28:03
The cargo ship which caught fire off the Netherlands on the night of July 25 to 26, with hundreds of electric cars on board, was towed on Thursday August 3 to a Dutch port. The towing was able to start around 5 a.m. (local time) and “went without any problems”, confirmed the Dutch national institute for water management, the Rijkswaterstaat. At least seven sailors had jumped overboard when their freighter was damaged, and one of them died.
Under the eyes of the curious, the blackened carcass of the Fremantle Highway arrived at the port of Eemshaven pulled by two tugs, and accompanied by a boat capable of recovering possible oil spills at sea. Port workers then piled a wall of yellow containers around the moored ship, hiding it in public view, observed a journalist from Agence France-Presse. According to local media, the ship will be able to remain in place until October 14.
Nearly 500 electric vehicles on board
The 18,500-ton cargo ship, flying the Panamanian flag, left the German port of Bremerhaven to reach Port Said in Egypt before heading back to Singapore, its final destination. It was carrying 3,783 new cars, including 498 electric vehicles, according to the K Line company which chartered the ship. Among the latter were BMWs, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi and Lamborghinis – a total loss likely to exceed 300 million euros, according to the Dutch Press Agency (ANP). One of the electric cars might be the cause of the fire.
Authorities feared an environmental disaster, as the cargo ship caught fire near an environmentally sensitive area. “We have ensured that the Wadden Sea and the Wadden Islands are not polluted and we are proud of it”welcomed to the ANP the captain of the port Pieter van der Wal.
The situation seemed largely under control for several days, but the bad weather in the North Sea had raised new concerns. “There is no indication that a fire is still raging” nor is it a question of a “any flow of liquids or other matter”said in a letter to Parliament on Thursday the Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management Mark Harbers.
Rich biodiversity
The Wadden Sea, which runs along a coastal region stretching from the Netherlands to Denmark, has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has a rich biodiversity of over 10,000 aquatic and terrestrial species. “The Wadden Sea has escaped a major environmental disaster”praised the Waddenvereniging, a local environmental protection organization. “However, we continue to be very concerned regarding shipping taking place north of the Wadden Islands”she added in a press release.
In early 2019, some 340 containers from one of the world’s largest container ships hit by a storm had fallen into the water in the region, littering miles of pristine coastline with plastic and polystyrene.
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