A car-carrying ship that burned for a week on the North Sea will be towed to a Dutch port
The Dutch government says a freight ship carrying thousands of cars that burned for a week on the North Sea will be towed to a Dutch port for salvage
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A freight ship carrying thousands of cars that burned for a week on the North Sea will be towed on Thursday to a Dutch port for salvage, the government said.
The Fremantle Highway, carrying 3,784 new vehicles, including 498 electric ones, from the German port city of Bremerhaven to Singapore was to be towed to the northern port of Eemshaven, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management said.
The nearly 200-meter (around 650-foot) vessel will be accompanied as a precaution by a boat that has special booms to clean up oil spills.
Fire broke out on the Fremantle Highway on July 25 and burned out of control for a week as it floated near busy North Sea shipping lanes and the shallow Wadden Sea, a World Heritage-listed migratory bird habitat. Dutch authorities did not attempt to spray water onto the ship for fear of making it unstable.
The ministry said that Eemshaven, 215 kilometers (134 miles) northeast of Amsterdam, was chosen because it is close to the Fremantle Highway's location in the North Sea and because of deteriorating weather conditions, the existing infrastructure and the facilities that the port offers for the next steps in the salvage of the ship.
The ministry said that most of the ship has now been inspected by salvage experts and “there are no indications that the fire is still burning.”
One crew member died and others were injured when the fire erupted. The crew of 21, all Indian nationals, and two other people on board, were evacuated in the early hours of July 26. The cause of the blaze has not been established.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.