There is a fire off the Dutch coast on a freighter with almost 3000 cars on board one person died. The Dutch Coast Guard announced on Wednesday that several people had been injured.
The Fremantle Highway, which is registered in Panama, was north of the West Frisian Islands when the fire broke out. The reason for this is that an electric car caught fire. The freighter was reportedly on its way from Germany to Egypt and had 2857 cars on board, 25 of which were electric cars. He was 27 kilometers north of the island of Ameland, which is popular with holidaymakers, when the fire broke out.
According to the Coast Guard, the crew consisted of 23 members. The survivors were brought to safety in the nearby Dutch port of Lauwersoog. Some crew members jumped overboard, and according to the Coast Guard, most of them were taken overboard by helicopter. Rescue workers are still in the vicinity of the freighter.
The authorities in Germany are also alarmed. “We are monitoring the situation,” said a spokesman for the German emergency command in Cuxhaven on Wednesday morning. The CCME offered support to the Dutch authorities. Among other things, ships or emergency services are ready for this. A decision on a posting has not yet been made.
According to environmental organizations, a sinking of the burning cargo ship could result in major environmental damage. “This could mean an environmental catastrophe for the North Sea and the Wadden Sea,” a spokesman for the De Noordzee Foundation told the Dutch news agency ANP on Wednesday. The concern is that fuel and cargo – nearly 3,000 cars – could leak into the sea and onto the seabed.
The mayor of Ameland, Leo Pieter Stoel, is also concerned that rubbish is contaminating the Wadden Sea and the coast of the islands. Rescue workers are now trying everything to stabilize the freighter and extinguish the fire.
Transport risk due to electronic freight
The risks of transporting electric cars on ships had come into focus worldwide at the latest with the spectacular disaster of the “Felicity Ace”. E-vehicles had also caught fire on the car carrier. The fire could not be extinguished at that time, the whole ship sank – including thousands of electric vehicles and luxury cars of the brands Porsche or Bentley, which have since been more than 3,000 meters below the surface of the water near the Portuguese Azores.
“In general, electronic components and especially electric vehicles pose a risk for every transport,” said Manfred Santen, a chemist in the marine protection team at the environmental protection organization Greenpeace, at the time. in an interview with manager magazin. Because of the high energy of charged batteries, any resulting fires are difficult to extinguish.