One sailor dead and 23 evacuated from burning cargo ship North Sea

2023-07-26

One sailor dead and 23 evacuated from burning 18,500-tonne cargo ship carrying 3,000 cars in North Sea off Holland after ‘electric vehicle caught fire’

Cargo ship was sailing from Germany to Egypt when an electric car caught fire
Crew attempted to put the flames out themselves, with at least one being killed

At least one crew member died and several others were injured overnight after a fire broke out on a huge car carrier ship off the Dutch coast, the coastguard said.

Rescue helicopters and boats evacuated 23 crew members from the Panamanian-registered Fremantle Highway, a 18,500-tonne car-carrying vessel with almost 3,000 vehicles on-board. Officials have said there are ‘many’ wounded.

‘Around midnight the Coast Guard received a report that the Fremantle Highway is on fire,’ the Dutch coastguard said on its website.

The coastguard added that the incident happened about 27 kilometres (14.5 nautical miles) north of the northern island of Ameland.

‘The crew tried to put out the fire themselves, but failed. Unfortunately one person died and several others were injured,’ the statement said.

At least one crew member died and several others were injured after a fire on a car carrier ship off the Dutch coast early Wednesday, the coastguard said

Rescue helicopters and boats evacuated 23 crew members from the Panamanian-registered car-carrying vessel, with officials saying ‘many’ are wounded

The Fremantle Highway (file photo) is a 18,500-tonne car-carrying vessel which had almost 3,000 vehicles on-board when it caught fire overnight

Pictured: Two Coast Guard helicopters involved in the rescue operation on the Fremantle Highway ship are at The Hague Airport

All crew were evacuated to the nearby Dutch port of Lauwersoog after failing to extinguish the blaze on the ship bound for Egypt

All crew were evacuated to the nearby Dutch port of Lauwersoog after failing to extinguish the blaze on the vast ship bound for Egypt.

Officials added that the Fremantle Highway was still on fire, and that emergency services are still present near the blazing ship. ‘The blaze is still raging on board,’ the coastguard said, adding that the ship was listing.

Salvage vessels were on the scene trying to put out the blaze and prevent the ship from sinking, the NOS national broadcaster said.

‘We are taking into account all scenarios,’ a coastguard official told the NOS.

The coastgard said it recieved reports that the ship was on fire at around midnight.

The cargo ship was transporting 2,857 cars from Bremen, Germany to Port Said, Egypt, 25 of which were electric cars. It was one of the electric cars that caught fire, a spokesperson for the coastguard told Reuters.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow…

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