The burning freighter has come much closer to its new berth overnight during the risky transport along the Dutch Wadden Sea islands. The freighter still has to cover 18 lines (about 33 kilometers), the responsible authority announced in The Hague in the morning.
“Arrival time is still heavily dependent on weather, smoke, currents and tides.” The “Fremantle Highway” is being pulled “slowly and in a controlled manner” by two tugboats. The new temporary berth is located about 16 kilometers north of the Wadden Sea island of Schiermonnikoog.
Environmental contamination still threatens
The transport is accompanied by salvage experts. There is also a special ship that can clear oil. Until now, the freighter was in the north of the island of Terschelling. Since yesterday evening, the freighter has been towed eastwards by two tugboats.
The venture is classified as very risky because the ship with around 3800 cars on board is still burning. If cracks appear in the steel walls, oil could escape. There is still a risk of environmental pollution if the ship breaks up or capsizes.
The new anchorage should be safer and more sheltered from the wind. The freighter should remain there after its arrival until a port is found.
Specialists had previously checked the car freighter and found that it was stable despite the great heat and that it was also intact below the waterline. “Other ships from the water authority and from Germany are also available on call if there is oil pollution,” the authority said.
According to the authorities, the smugglers drive slowly and in a controlled manner, at around 5.5 kilometers per hour. The salvage experts estimated that the transport should take 12 to 14 hours in total.
A human died
The freighter was on its way from Bremerhaven to Singapore when fire broke out on Wednesday night. At that time he was off the island of Ameland. 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 hasn’t been confirmed yet. The ship also had far more electric cars on board than previously reported, namely 500 instead of 25.
The Japanese owner of the ship must pay the cost of the entire operation. The authorities of the flag state of Panama are in turn responsible for investigating the cause of the fire.
