You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
-Short Attention Span Theater-
Yet another.....Cargo ship carrying nearly 3,000 cars catches fire, leaves one dead
2023-07-27
Follow up to this story from yesterday.
[Autoblog] A large cargo ship carrying nearly 3,000 vehicles caught fire last night off the Dutch coast, killing one crew member and injuring several others. The vessel, named Fremantle Highway, was fully evacuated via other boats and helicopters, but as of now, the Dutch Coast Guard is saying that the fire is still ablaze as emergency workers attempt to put it out.

Reuters reports that about 350 of the vehicles onboard the ship are Mercedes-Benz products. However, it’s still not confirmed what the rest of the vehicles are. Reports say that of the approximately 3,000 vehicles, 25 of them are electric.

The cause of the fire is unclear for now, as various official statements and media reports conflict with each other. The Coast Guard’s official live blog for the incident states "the cause of the fire is still unknown." Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that a Coast Guard spokesperson told the publication that the fire "began near an electric car." To add even more confusion to the story, Sky is reporting that a coastguard spokesperson said, "an electric car was the suspected source of the blaze."

We’ve contacted the Dutch Coast Guard to try and get some answers of our own and will update this post with any additional information.

Sorry, incorrect graphic.
Posted by:Besoeker

#6  Dutchies, hollanders, nederlanders, wooden shoes, tulip smugglers. Who was it?
Posted by: Skidmark   2023-07-27 23:59  

#5  ^ and probably were stolen?
Posted by: Frank G   2023-07-27 20:58  

#4  I don’t know if it matters, but the cars were being shipped to Egypt.
Posted by: trailing wife   2023-07-27 18:43  

#3  Read that the Dutch Coast Guard wants to bring it into port to fight the fire easier, and for some reason the port authorities don't want it anywhere near their traffic areas.
Humph.
(They probably said, "Why don't you take it to the Coast Guard station to mess with it?")
Posted by: ed in texas   2023-07-27 11:57  

#2  ^^ Well that, and all the nifty chemicals in those batteries leeching into the ocean.
Posted by: Mullah Richard   2023-07-27 07:55  

#1  Loading vehicles with large lithium batteries is probably not a good idea. It's going to be hard to get some sand to bury a burning one out there.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2023-07-27 07:17  

00:00