THE HAGUE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st July, 2023) A salvage team has started towing the car-carrying Fremantle Highway cargo ship burning off the Dutch coast to a new temporary location as fire and smoke have eased, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management said on Sunday.
On Thursday, the Dutch emergency services were forced to stop dousing the ship with water to prevent it from sinking. Emergency crews planned to get back to salvaging the freighter and start towing it on Saturday, but it was impossible to do then due to the wind direction.
"The smoke from the cargo ship significantly decreased this afternoon and the salvage team immediately took advantage of this ... The ship is being slowly towed ... to a new (temporary) location - 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of the (Dutch) islands of Schiermonnikoog and Ameland," the ministry said in a statement.
The exact time of the ship's arrival at the place of temporary anchorage will depend on weather conditions and the level of smoke, the authorities added.
The fire aboard the Fremantle Highway, a vessel with 23 crew members, broke out on Tuesday night. At the time, the ship was about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) north of the island of Ameland. The fire killed one person and injured 16 others. Those injured were taken to the nearest hospitals, while the remaining crew members were evacuated by helicopter. The vessel was transporting 498 electric cars from Germany to Egypt. The fire is believed to have started in one of the electric cars on board.
