The vehicle carrier Fremantle Highway, operated by K-Line, who can be seen here on a 2019 visit to Fremantle, has caught fire off the the Dutch coast not far into her journey from Bremerhaven, Germany, to Port Said, Egypt, reportedly carrying around 3,000 vehicles.
According to the Dutch Coastguard, the fire started Tuesday night Dutch time and one crew member has died and several others are injured. There are reports of crew having jumped into the North Sea from a height of 30 metres.
Fremantle Highway in Fremantle 22 November 2019. Credit Deanna Shanahan
The Fremantle Highway is stranded quite close to the Dutch coast and islands and in a busy sea lane area, as this graphic of its location from Marine Traffic as of 7 am Fremantle time this morning shows.
Multiple sources are reporting the blaze in the vessel could take days to extinguish.
The ship’s owner has said an electric car in the cargo, of which there were around 25 in the cargo, was suspected as a possible cause for the blaze. However, that is yet to be confirmed.
Watch this space for further reports.
* By Michael Barker, Editor, Fremantle Shipping News
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