AMELAND: An electric car was suspected in a blaze raging aboard a cargo ship off the Netherlands on Wednesday, which authorities fear could burn for days and threaten nearby natural sites.

The cargo aboard the vessel includes electric vehicles and the ship’s owners told Dutch media it was the suspected cause of the deadly fire, which will now be investigated.

Shoei Kisen Kaisha said in a statement the car carrier Fremantle Highway, which had 3,000 vehicles onboard, was under way to its final destination in Singapore when the fire broke out.

“We are now trying to extinguish the fire in cooperation with the local authorities of (the) Netherlands and the ship management company,” it said.

The company told the NOS public broadcaster “there is a good chance that the fire started with electric cars”, of which some 25 were on board.

“But we are not entirely sure of the cause, we are waiting for the investigation,” it said.

Rijkswaterstaat, the government agency tasked with overseeing public works and water management, said the situation was “stable”, but added: “Towing or rescue (of the vessel) can only take place once the fire is out.”

Rescue personnel received a call early on Wednesday reporting a fire about 14 nautical miles off the northern Dutch island of Ameland.

All 23 crew members were evacuated from the ship, but one person died and several were injured, the coastguard said.

“The fire could still burn for days,” a coastguard official said.

“The ship is being cooled to keep it stable,” said the official. “Only the side of the ship is being sprayed, not the deck.”

The Fremantle Highway is currently close to Ameland, one of an archipelago of ecologically sensitive islands situated in the Waddensee area just north of the Dutch mainland.

Environmental risk

The Waddensee area, which spans the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany, has been declared a

Unesco World Heritage Site and has a rich diversity of more than 10,000 aquatic and terrestrial species.

This includes more than 140 species of fish, of which some 20 spend their entire life in the tidal areas along the islands’ famous mud flats.

The area also has a large seal and porpoise population.

Should the Panama-registered Fremantle Highway sink, “it would be a disaster of the highest order”, the daily tabloid De Telegraaf said.

Salvage vessels were on the scene trying to put out the blaze and prevent the ship from sinking, the coastguard said.

A tug vessel has managed to attach a cable to the stricken ship to prevent it from drifting and blocking an important sailing route into Germany.

The Fremantle Highway is an 18,500-tonne car carrier and was sailing between Bremerhaven, Germany, and Port Said, Egypt, when the blaze broke out.

`Minimising damage’

The injured sailors, mainly from India, were taken to the northern towns of Lauwersoog and Eelde and left in the care of paramedics there.

“They all suffered from breathing problems, but none are in serious danger,” a safety official of the Drenthe region said.

“The sailors were also treated for burns and broken bones,” she added.

“Currently several parties including salvagers and the Dutch authorities are looking at minimising the damage as much as possible,” the Coast Guard said.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2023