This handout photograph taken on July 29, 2023 and released on July 30, 2023 by the Dutch coastguards, shows smoke rising from the Panamanian-registered car carrier ship Fremantle Highway, after a fire broke out late on July 25, 2023, killing one crew member, and prompting a massive effort to extinguish the flames. Photo by Handout / Netherlands Coastguards / AFP
Dutch authorities began towing a ship carrying thousands of automobiles days after it started burning off the coast of the Netherlands.
Towing of the Panama-flagged Fremantle Highway, laden with almost 3,800 vehicles including nearly 500 electric cars, began in the early afternoon on Sunday, the Dutch public works and waterways authority Rijkswaterstaat said in a statement.
The ship is being towed "slowly and in a controlled manner” to a temporary location, 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of Schiermonnikoog and Ameland, two of the West Frisian Islands in a UNESCO world heritage site area, according to Dutch officials.
The operation began with the help of salvage companies after smoke from the cargo ship subsided.
After the ship caught fire late Tuesday its crew had to be rescued by helicopter and one person died. It was en route to Port Said, Egypt, and Singapore after a recent stop in the German port of Bremerhaven, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
Among the ship’s cargo are several hundred BMW AG cars, plus roughly 300 Mercedes-Benz Group AG vehicles, representatives for the companies have said.
Rijkswaterstaat couldn’t specify the exact time the ship will arrive at its temporary destination. Dutch authorities ultimately want to tow the ship to a port "as soon as the situation on board permits.”
