A fire on a ship carrying nearly 3,000 cars is burning in the North Sea and 1 crew member has died
THE HAGUE, Netherlands –
A fireplace on a freight ship carrying almost 3,000 automobiles was burning uncontrolled Wednesday within the North Sea, and the Dutch coast guard stated one crew member had died, others had been damage and it was working to avoid wasting the vessel from sinking.
Boats and helicopters had been used to get the 23 crew members off the ship after they tried unsuccessfully to place out the blaze, the coast guard stated in an announcement.
“Currently there are a lot of vessels on scene to monitor the situation and to see how to get the fire under control,” coast guard spokesperson Lea Versteeg stated by phone.
“But it’s all depending on weather and the damage to the vessel. So we’re currently working out to see how we can make sure that … the least bad situation is going to happen.”
Asked if it was potential the ship would sink, Versteeg stated, “It’s a scenario we’re taking into account and we’re preparing for all scenarios.”
The Fremantle Highway was crusing from the German port of Bremen to Port Said in Egypt when it caught hearth about 27 kilometres (17 miles) north of the Dutch island of Ameland.
Its location is near a sequence of Dutch and German islands in style with vacationers within the shallow Wadden Sea, a World Heritage-listed space described by UNESCO as “the largest unbroken system of intertidal sand and mud flats in the world” and “one of the most important areas for migratory birds in the world.”
The reason behind the blaze was not instantly recognized, and it wasn’t clear how the crew member’s loss of life occurred.
“It’s carrying cars, 2,857, of which 25 are electrical cars, which made the fire even more difficult. It’s not easy to keep that kind of fire under control and even in such a vessel it’s not easy,” Versteeg stated.
Images taken from shore confirmed a protracted plume of gray smoke drifting over the ocean from the stricken ship.
One towing ship managed to determine a reference to the freighter to carry it in place.
“We hope that the fire will be under control or will die out and that we can get the vessel in a safe location,” Versteeg stated. “But it’s all uncertain what’s going to happen now.”
The coast guard stated in an announcement that salvage corporations and water authorities had been “looking at the best ways to limit the damage as much as possible.”
Authorities in Germany had been additionally on alert, German news company dpa reported.
“We are monitoring the situation,” a spokesperson for the German sea catastrophe command within the northern metropolis of Cuxhaven stated, including that it had supplied assist to the Dutch authorities. He stated rescue ships and activity forces had been prepared to assist if wanted, however that no determination had been made on whether or not to ship them.
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Associated Press author Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to this report.
