Burning Cargo Ship off Dutch Coast Will Be Towed to a New Location After Flames and Smoke Subsided

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Salvage crews had been getting ready Saturday to tow a car-carrying cargo ship that has been burning for days to an anchor level within the North Sea after flames and smoke on board subsided, the Dutch authorities mentioned.

Fireplace erupted within the Fremantle Freeway late Tuesday night time close to a sequence of islands within the northern Netherlands and has been blazing ever since. The ship is carrying 3,783 new automobiles, together with 498 electrical automobiles, the corporate that chartered the vessel mentioned.

One crew member died and others had been injured after the hearth broke out on the ship that was heading from Bremerhaven in Germany to Singapore. The crew was evacuated within the early hours of Wednesday. The reason for the hearth has not been established.

Measurements Friday confirmed that warmth, flames and smoke had subsided sufficient for salvage consultants to board the ship for the primary time and set up a powerful towing reference to a tugboat, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Administration mentioned.

It is going to be towed, doubtless over the weekend, to a brand new place 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of the island of Schiermonnikoog , the ministry mentioned in an announcement. The timing of the operation that’s anticipated to take 12-14 hours is dependent upon smoke improvement and climate, the ministry added. The intention is finally “as soon as situations on board permit,” to tow the ship to a port, although the vacation spot has not but been determined.

The ministry mentioned the ship is secure and intact under the waterline.

The burning vessel is near the shallow Wadden Sea, a World Heritage-listed space that’s thought of one of many world’s most vital habitats for migratory birds. It’s additionally close to the Netherlands’ border with Germany, whose surroundings minister, Steffi Lemke, has warned of “an environmental disaster of unknown proportions,” if the ship had been to sink.

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