Speaking to the local Dutch press, Berdowski said that the 500 EVs are among the 1,000 vehicles that “seem to be in good condition” and are “perfectly movable”.
Speaking to the local Dutch press, Berdowski said that the 500 EVs are among the 1,000 vehicles that "appear to be in good condition" and are " perfectly
According to local media reports, the lower four decks of the cargo ship (out of a total of 12) are relatively undamaged, and that's where the battery-powered vehicles were located. At the same time, the top four decks experienced temperatures so high that they " totally fused with the cars" as a result of the fire, Berdowski said.
Previously, it was stated that the ship had about 3,000 vehicles on board. However, Automotive Logistics report indicates over 3,700 cars, including Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz models, were being transported from Germany to Egypt when a fire broke out. The initial report also suggested that the fire started near an unknown electric vehicle.
Following the fire, the Fremantle Highway roll-on/roll-off cargo ship was towed to the port of Eemshaven in the Netherlands, where oil is currently being pumped out to reduce the risk of an oil spill. The vessel can stay here until October 14, when it will need to be moved elsewhere or scrapped along with the cars onboard.
It is unclear how the remaining cars will be recovered, as there is a risk of the fire reigniting, according to Berdowski. “You wouldn’t want the cars to catch fire again during the moving process and restart the entire misery. Moreover, these cars have charged batteries with high voltage, which can be extremely dangerous.”
The Fremantle Highway ship caught fire on July 25th while drifting north of Ameland in the North Sea. One crew member died in the fire, and several others were hurt.
Source: Automotive Logistics