An electric car caught fire on board the Fremantle Highway, which was transporting about 3,000 cars from Germany to Egypt. The vessel failed to extinguish the fire, so the flames spread to other cars.
The ship was sailing about 27 nautical miles (50 kilometers) north of the Dutch island of Ameland.
The firefighting operation on the ship is ongoing, but there is no guarantee that it will be successful. Moreover, the ship may sink along with the cargo, DW reports.
The fire on the cargo ship has already resulted in the death of one crew member and several others were burned. At least seven crew members jumped overboard and were rescued from the water, while the rest were evacuated by helicopter, officials said.
At this time, it is known that the Panama-registered Fremantle Highway company was transporting 2,857 vehicles from the German port of Bremerhaven to Port Said in Egypt when the fire broke out. One of the 25 electric vehicles on board caught fire, causing the flames to spread to the rest of the cargo.
“The crew tried to extinguish the fire on their own, but failed. Unfortunately, one person died and several others were injured,” the coast guard said in a statement. There were 23 crew members on board. All of them were evacuated, but it is not yet clear how many of them were injured.
Boven Ameland. Nu. pic.twitter.com/DO1OK5uC61
– EMK-vissers (@EMKvissers) July 26, 2023
Photographs of the ship released by the Coast Guard show several burned areas along the side of the vessel, with flames and smoke still visible. The fire was developing so quickly that it was no longer safe to bring on board specialized firefighters called from Rotterdam. The tug therefore secured the cable to the emergency vessel, preventing it from drifting and blocking an important shipping route to Germany.
If the burning cargo ship sinks, it could spell disaster for an important ecosystem, environmental groups warn.
