LA HAYE (Netherlands), Aug 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A cargo ship that caught fire off the Dutch coast with hundreds of electric cars on board is being towed to port Thursday as the flames appear to have been extinguished, officials said.
The government decided that the Fremantle Highway, on which a blaze broke out more than a week ago, will be towed to the northern port of Eemshaven some 62 kilometres from its current position.
“By keeping the towing route as short as possible, the risks are limited,” the national water management agency Rijkswaterstaat said in a statement.
The government agency pointed to deteriorating weather conditions, as well as the port’s infrastructure and facilities, as reasons for moving the ship.
The vessel has been anchored 16 kilometres north of the islands of Schiermonnikoog and Ameland — part of an ecologically sensitive archipelago.
It had already been towed 66 kilometres to the current position over Sunday and Monday, to reduce its impact on maritime traffic.
The exact timing of its towing Thursday had not been specified and will depend on weather, current and tide conditions.
A boat designed for cleaning up oil spills will remain near the ship.
“The situation on the freighter is still stable,” Rijkswaterstaat said, adding it remained intact below the waterline.
The cause of the fire that broke out on July 25 remains unclear, although the vessel’s owner has said one of the electric vehicles on board may have been the source.
According to Japan-based K Line, the ship’s charter company, the Panamanian-flagged freighter was carrying 3,783 new cars, including 498 electric vehicles.
One sailor died after he and 22 others were rescued from the burning ship that had forced some crew members to jump overboard. — NNN-AGENCIES
