The car freighter that has been burning off the Dutch coast for days cannot be towed to a safer place for the time being. The maneuver planned for this weekend was canceled at short notice on Saturday evening.
The current wind direction and the still heavy smoke in the burning ship made the operation impossible, said the water authority in The Hague. The salvage specialists may now have to wait days for a more favorable wind. “Until then, the ship will remain in its current position.”
Great concern about an environmental catastrophe
The “Fremantle Highway”, flying the Panamanian flag, was on its way from Bremerhaven to Singapore on Wednesday night when the fire broke out. One person died during the evacuation of the crew. The source of the fire may have been the battery of an electric car. But that wasn’t confirmed at first. The freighter has been lying off the Dutch coast ever since. First it was in the north of the island of Ameland, now it is in the north of the western neighboring island of Terschelling.
Now the ship is to be towed east to a new anchorage in the north of the Wadden Sea island of Schiermonnikoog. That’s risky, because the ship with around 3,800 cars on board is still burning. In the event of a breakup or capsizing, an environmental catastrophe threatens. The bird areas in the Wadden Sea, for example, are endangered, as are the beaches and dunes of the islands.
Crew safety and health at risk
The water authority does not want to take any risks. Now the wind is driving clouds of smoke directly over the tug. And that endangers the safety and health of the crew, the authority said. According to the information, the condition of the ship is constantly monitored by specialists. Everything is being done to prevent environmental damage, said the authority in The Hague. Just off the Fremantle Highway is a ship that specializes in clearing oil at sea.
It was possible to move the freighter because the fire had weakened. In addition, salvage specialists on board the “Fremantle Highway” determined that the ship was stable. Despite the tremendous heat from the fire deep in the ship’s belly on the car decks, the steel walls had also withstood below the waterline, according to the water authority.
The new anchorage off Schiermonnikoog should be safer. The ship is currently located exactly between two very busy shipping routes to Germany. The new location, on the other hand, is far from the routes and should be more sheltered from the wind. The freighter should remain there until it can be towed into a port. It is not yet known which port that should be.
