An electric car caused a fire that quickly spread on board a giant cargo ship, with more than 3,700 cars on board, off the coast of the Netherlands, at a time when the authorities are looking to tow the ship, which was destined for Egypt, to a nearby port.
rescue attempts
Rescue teams in the Netherlands have been trying to put out the fire on the cargo ship 3 days ago, and although efforts to extinguish the fire have made progress, it has not ended, according to the British Daily Mail. Rescue teams boarded the ship, working to reduce the heat, flames and smoke. The Dutch Coast Guard stated that the temperature on the ship had been significantly lowered. The cargo ship was attached to one of the rescue vessels, which brought it under control. The Dutch coast guard works with salvage companies contracted by the company that owns the cargo ship to tow it. The Dutch authorities are currently looking into various scenarios to determine the next steps, with the goal being to transfer them to a nearby port. Clouds depend on various factors such as the amount of smoke released and weather conditions. Authorities fear its sinking could lead to an environmental catastrophe.
Disaster details
One of the ship’s crew members was killed as a result of the fire, and 7 others were injured when the fire broke out on Wednesday, while the rest of the crew members were evacuated, noting that some of them jumped into the sea to escape the fire. The fire is believed to have been caused by an electric vehicle. The US National Transportation Safety Board has warned in the past about the potential fire hazards of electric vehicle batteries. The fire broke out on the freighter while it was in the North Sea near busy international shipping lanes.
Thousands of cars to Egypt
The company that chartered the ship said it was carrying more electric cars than the number reported by the Dutch coast guard, which said the number was 2,857, including 25 electric cars. The company says there were 3,783 vehicles on board, including 498 electric cars. The company did not say what happened to the cars on the ship. The fire broke out on a Panama-registered ship called “Fremantle Highway.” The ship had left the German city of Bremen and was destined for the Egyptian city of Port Said.
2023-07-29 07:25:50
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