High winds stall efforts to tow a burning cargo ship packed with cars off northern Dutch coast

Strong gusts from the North Sea are impeding operations to pull a blazing cargo ship filled with numerous automobiles to a safe location away from the northern coast of the Netherlands, according to a government announcement on Sunday.

The relocation of the vessel Fremantle Highway, which is currently on fire, was not anticipated to take place on Sunday due to the prevailing southwesterly wind, as per the statement from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

“With the southwesterly wind expected to persist in the coming days, the initiation of the towing operation for the Fremantle Highway to a new temporary spot could be delayed for several more days,” the Ministry reported in a Saturday evening update.

It also pointed out that the combination of smoke from the fire and the direction of the wind implies that during the towing process, smoke could envelop the tugboat.

On Saturday, salvage teams managed to secure a second towing cable to the ship, which is transporting 3,783 new vehicles, 498 of which are electric vehicles, from Bremerhaven, Germany, to Singapore. Ultimately, the salvage teams aim to bring the afflicted ship to a port, but the specifics of when and where this will happen are yet to be determined.

The ship, which is nearly 200 meters (approximately 219 yards) in length, has been ablaze since Tuesday. Firefighters have chosen not to extinguish the fire with water, fearing that it might destabilize the ship that is currently floating close to the North Sea shipping routes and a globally celebrated bird migration habitat.

Following the ignition of the fire, one crew member was reported dead and several others injured. The crew was evacuated in the early hours of Wednesday.

The reason behind the fire outbreak remains undetermined.

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More about Fremantle Highway fire

• Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management
• Bremerhaven Port
• Maritime Salvage Operations
• International Maritime Safety Procedures