The very latest on the Fremantle Highway aftermath

Fremantle Shipping News continues to cover the fire stricken vessel Fremantle Highway off the Dutch coast.

Dutch Coastguard

Here are our earlier reports.

The Shipping News is now advised on behalf of the ship’s charterer, K-Line as follows –

The actual figures of cargo and personnel on board are:
Total number of cars 3784
Total EV’s on board 498

Personnel: A total of 23, comprising 21 Crew members (Indian nationals – 1 deceased), 1 Pilot and 1 Superintendent.

Owner:Luster Maritime (Shoei Kisen Kaishai).

Ship Manager:Wallem Shipmanagement.

Charterer: K-Line.

Original Location: 23 km North of Terschelling, between shipping routes. Heat and smoke reduced.

New location as advised by the salvors, but under tow to 15/16 km North of Schiermonnikoog and Ameland. (Islands off the Dutch Coast), weather permitting, according to the Dutch Rijkswaterstaat.

Here’s a Marine Traffic map showing those islands and the approximate position of Fremantle Highway, although this image is probably prior to towing to a safer location.

The Loadstar is reporting that the higher number of EVs aboard the ship than originally reported (nearly 500, not 25) means batteries made up a higher proportion of the RO-RO’s cargo than on Felicity Ace, the RO-RO that sank mid-Atlantic in 2022 after catastrophic fires, carrying only 281 EVs.

As The Loadstar put it, this begs the question whether Fremantle Highway will sink with its cargo off the Dutch coast, or whether the closer proximity and faster travel times of salvors can save the vessel.

We will keep you updated as more information on the fate of the vessel comes to hand.

WHILE YOU’RE HERE –

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