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Ship carrying nearly 3,000 Mercedes, BMW cars on fire near Netherlands

The unfortunate incident resulted in the loss of a crew member's life and raised worries on fuel leaks and harm to the delicate Wadden Sea UNESCO World Heritage Site

cargo ship

Ship carrying nearly 3,000 Mercedes, BMW cars on fire near Netherlands

Sonika Nitin Nimje New Delhi

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A cargo ship carrying almost 3,000 automobiles, including vehicles from Mercedes-Benz Group AG and BMW AG, caught fire close to the Netherlands and kept on burning for the second day. One crew member, an Indian, unfortunately, lost his life as the fire overwhelmed the ship. The Indian embassy in the Netherlands grieved the death of the Indian crew member.

The embassy mentioned on Twitter, "We are deeply saddened by the incident involving Ship ‘Fremantle Highway’ in the North Sea, resulting in the death of an Indian seafarer & injuries to the crew. The Embassy of India is in touch with the family of the deceased and is assisting in the repatriation of the mortal remains."
 

"The Embassy is also in touch with the remaining 20 injured crew members, who are safe and receiving medical attention. All possible assistance is being extended in coordination with the Dutch authorities and the shipping company," the statement added on Twitter.

Cargo ship in Netherlands: Insights

The 10-year-old ship fit for moving up to 4,000 vehicles was reminiscent of a previous maritime disaster involving a burning cargo ship that sank in the Atlantic with approximately 4,000 Volkswagen cars onboard. As of 8:30 a.m., Amsterdam time on Thursday, the fire was still ongoing preventing towing or rescue tasks from starting their operations. Officials can't board the ship because of worries about stability and the presence of water within the vessel.

The Panama-flagged Fremantle Highway was going for Port Said, Egypt, from the German port of Bremerhaven, with Singapore being the last destination for the vehicles. Around 25 of the vehicles on board were EVs, and it's feared one of them might have started the fire with the blaze possibly going on for a long time.

Around 300 of the vehicles are reported to belong to the German carmaker, Mercedes-Benz, while different brands like Toyota Motor Corp, Stellantis NV, Renault SA, Ford Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co announced not having any vehicles on the ship. Volkswagen AG was effectively examining the case, and Tesla Inc. had not answered inquiries yet.

Many BMW cars are reportedly onboard the ship, according to the rescuers, however, the quantity of the vehicles is unknown. Precautionary steps were taken to stop fuel leaks, and an oil recovery vessel was on-site to respond quickly if there were to be an occurrence of a leak. The ship's area close to the Wadden sea UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for its delicate ecological environment, raised worries about possible oil spills. But, officials expressed that any fuel leakage would spread toward the north, away from the Wadden Islands, because of the current and expected weather conditions.

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First Published: Jul 27 2023 | 7:02 PM IST

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