The Dutch authorities said that the vessel arrived at a temporary location 16 km from Schiermonnikoog and Ameland at 11-30am local time on Monday morning. The operation involving two tugs moving the Fremantle Highway a distance of 66 km was completed in under 24 hours, with smoke from the vessel described as minimal during the operation.
The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management said that the next stage was to anchor the vessel with a team going onboard as soon as possible for an inspection.
Video released by the Dutch coastguard, which you can view below, shows external fire damage to the vast majority of the vehicle carrier’s cargo decks.
The longer-term plan is to move the Fremantle Highway to a port of refuge which has yet to be identified.
The Fremantle Highway is owned Shoei Kisen Kaisha, chartered by K Line, and was enroute from Germany to Singapore when a fire erupted onboard in the late evening on 25 July off the coast of the Netherlands.
According to K Line the vessel had a crew of 21 Indian nationals onboard and a pilot, and superintendent.
The crew attempted to extinguish the fire but failed in their attempt and all 23 were evacuated from the vessel, so jumping overboard. One seafarer died and several were injured as a result of the fire. The Dutch coastguard said previously it did not know how the seafarer had lost his life.
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. Seatrade, a trading name of Informa Markets (UK) Limited.
Add Seatrade Maritime News to your Google News feed.  |
