Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Dutch race to put out blaze on car ship

Fremantle Highway was sailing between Germany and Singapore via Egypt when the fire broke out

Dutch race to put out blaze on car ship

AUTHORITIES were racing on Thursday (27) to prevent a possible ecological disaster off the Dutch coast where a blaze raged aboard a car carrier ship for a second day.

The Fremantle Highway, a Panamanian-flagged vessel, remained tethered to a salvage ship but was drifting westwards following a fire that broke out on board late on Tuesday (26).

"The fire is still burning and there is still a lot of smoke," the Dutch coastguard said in its latest update, adding that the vessel was drifting westward in the wind and current.

"But the intensity of the fire seems to have diminished compared with yesterday."

The Fremantle Highway was "now 16 kilometres off the island of Terschelling," it said, adding: "The vessel is currently kept outside the traffic lanes, so that shipping traffic can pass at a safe distance".

"The temperature on board remains very high and putting out the fire is difficult," coastguard spokesman Edwin Granneman said.

Firefighting vessels have had to stop spraying the ship to cool it down "in order to prevent too much water coming on board" as it affected the ship's stability, the coastguard said.

"Earlier the ship was continuously cooled, but the blaze was more intense," they said.

Electric cars

One sailor died after he and 22 others - all from India - were rescued from the burning ship, carrying around 3,000 vehicles, and forcing some crew members to jump overboard.

The blaze erupted shortly before midnight on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Dutch Safety Board (OVV) - which probes accidents and disasters in the Netherlands - said it will assist in the investigation into the on-board fire.

"Panamanian authorities are in charge of the probe, as the ship is registered there," the OVV posted online.

"The Board will specifically look at the role of the crew" during the disaster, it said.

Shoei Kisen Kaisha, the ship's owners, have said there was a "good chance that the fire started with electric cars", but added that the cause still needs to be investigated.

'Very concerned'


Officials said the fire could rage "for days", raising the spectre of an ecological disaster on a nearby chain of islands, which include Terschelling and Ameland, where the fire was first reported.

Several ships were on the scene, including the emergency tug boat Guardian "where a salvaging team is on board, monitoring the situation and planning an operation", the coastguard said.

Outgoing Dutch infrastructure minister Mark Harbers said should the Fremantle Highway spring a fuel leak, it could drift away from the Wadden Sea islands into the North Sea.

"This is due to the currently expected wave and wind direction," Harbers said.

The ship remained close to Terschelling and Ameland, which are part of an archipelago of ecologically sensitive islands in the Wadden Sea.

The area spanning the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has a rich diversity of more than 10,000 aquatic and terrestrial species.

"The risk of an environmental disaster is always present," Granneman told BNR news radio. "You have to take into account a scenario in which the ship capsizes or sinks."

"It seems that the situation on the ship has stabilised somewhat," said Heidi Bunicich, spokeswoman for the Ameland municipality.

"But of course we are very concerned. We have emergency plans in place to deal with various scenarios," she said.

The Fremantle Highway is an 18,500-tonne vessel and was sailing between Bremerhaven in Germany and Port Said in Egypt before its final destination in Singapore.

Some 340 containers tumbled off one of the world's largest container ships after a storm in the same area in early 2019, littering kilometres of pristine coastline with plastic and polystyrene.

Fires on car-carrying ships were increasingly the source of major losses, insurers said.

Last year, the Felicity Ace sank off the coast of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean with some 4,000 vehicles from German car maker Volkswagen on board.

(AFP)

More For You

british-muslims-iStock

The study noted that this identification was not due to any doctrinal obligation but was influenced by the perception that many Muslims do not feel fully accepted as British. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Majority of British Muslims identify by faith first, study finds

A STUDY by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) has found that most British Muslims identify primarily with their religion rather than their nationality.

The research, based on a survey of 815 British Muslim adults by Whitestone Insight, revealed that 71 per cent of respondents identified as Muslim first, while 27 per cent identified as British, English, or Scottish first.

Keep ReadingShow less
Car Tax Changes: EV Owners Now Required to Pay for the First Time

Owners of electric vehicles registered on or after 1 April 2025 will pay £10 for the first year, followed by the standard VED rate of £195 from the second year. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Car tax changes take effect: EV owners to pay for first time

FROM today, 1 April 2025, electric cars, vans, and motorcycles in the UK will be subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the first time.

The change, introduced in the 2022 Autumn Statement by former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, aims to make motoring taxation fairer.

Keep ReadingShow less
scotland-minimum-wages-iStock

Full-time workers on the National Living Wage will receive an annual pay increase of £1,400 in real terms. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Wage increase takes effect for thousands of workers in Scotland

HUNDREDS of thousands of workers in Scotland will see a pay increase as new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates take effect from Tuesday.

The changes will benefit approximately 220,000 people, according to STV News.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

April bill increases put financial strain on single parents

A RANGE of essential household bills are increasing from April, with Citizens Advice warning that single parents will be among the hardest hit.

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased, BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools
Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper in 'Adolescence'
Netflix

Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools

THE NETFLIX drama Adolescence will be shown in UK secondary schools as part of efforts to address harmful online influences on young boys, officials announced on Monday.

The show has sparked debate over the impact of toxic and misogynistic content on the internet. Prime minister Keir Starmer met the show's creators, charities, and young people at Downing Street, calling the initiative an important step in starting discussions about the content teenagers are exposed to online.

Keep ReadingShow less