MV Fremantle Highway is a car carrier owned by the Japanese tonnage provider Shoei Kisen Kaisha, while the vessel is technically managed by Wallem Shipmanagement Japanese and operated by "K"-Line. Fremantle Highway is Panamanian-flagged.
On the night of 25 July 2023, a fire broke out in the loading area of the ship in the North Sea off the coast of the Netherlands. One of the 23-man crew died; the rest were rescued. A salvage operation to prevent sinking and an oil spill lasted until 3 August 2023, when the ship was salvaged and towed to Eemshaven. The ship was towed again and arrived in Rotterdam on 23 September 2023 for an attempt to repair it.
Design and description
The ship, which is long with a beam of , is powered by a two-stroke eight-cylinder diesel engine with an output of . The engine acts on a propeller. Four diesel generators with a total output of 4,750 kW are available for power generation. A stern ramp on the starboard side and a side ramp approximately in the middle on the starboard side are available for cargo handling. The rear ramp can be loaded with up to 100 t. The maximum ceiling height on the vehicle decks is .
History
Fremantle Highway was built in 2013 under the yard number 1617 at the Japanese shipyard Imabari Zōsen. The keel was laid on 17 May and the launch took place on 30 September 2013. She was completed on 17 December 2013.
2023 fire
Fremantle Highway caught fire off the coast of the Dutch island of Ameland around 11.45 pm (CET) on 25 July 2023 while en route from Bremerhaven, Germany, due to arrive in Egypt's Port Said on 2 August 2023. K Line and Shoei Kisen Kaisha stated that the ship was eventually bound for Singapore and was carrying approximately 3,000 cars.
One of the 23-man crew died, while the others were all evacuated on a helicopter and lifeboat by the Netherlands Coastguard. All the seafarers were Indian nationals; 16 of them were injured. Fremantle Highway was subsequently towed out of the main shipping lanes.
The German company BLG stated that they had loaded 2,500 cars and "high and heavy" cargo on Fremantle Highway at the port of Bremerhaven in addition to already loaded cars. On 28 July, it was reported that there were almost 500 electric cars on the ship, which was significantly more than originally assumed, although all were recovered without significant damage and did not contribute to the fire. A total of 3,783 new cars are on the ship, as reported by the Dutch media.
Environmental risks
The fire and potentially sinking ship was causing environmental risks, as Ameland is in the Wadden Sea area spanning the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany and has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with a rich diversity of more than 10,000 aquatic and terrestrial species.
According to the German Federal Environment Ministry, there were 1,600 tons of heavy fuel oil (1.6 million litres) and a further 200 tons of marine diesel oil on board as ship fuel.
Salvage operation
Dutch and German tugboats and fireboats were ordered to the burning ship, as well as an oil-recovery vessel in case of a leak. The ship was at a position north of the island of Terschelling, between two very busy shipping routes to and from Germany. The salvage operation was led by the Netherlands Rijkswaterstaat, joined by the Netherlands Coastguard and contracted salvage companies, like Smit International, Multraship Towage and Salvage and Boskalis. The owner of Fremantle Highway contracted the Dutch heavylift company Royal Boskalis Westminster for the salvage operation.
Since there was a risk of the ship becoming unstable due to direct extinguishing, only the bow was cooled with water. A towing connection was established on 28 July. Since the fire broke out, the ship could not be dragged because of the effects of streaming conditions, tide and wind to the 199 m long and high ship. However, the position could be altered by the tugboats Fairplay-30 and others.
On 29 July, Fremantle Highway was towed away from its dangerous berth, eastward off the Wadden Sea island of Schiermonnikoog. Strong south-westerly winds blew the smoke from the cargo ship directly over the tug. The authorities temporarily stopped the operation.
On the afternoon of 30 July, two tugs managed to start towing to the provisional sea position north of Schiermonnikoog. The ship remained there until a port was found. The still burning freighter arrived at its new provisional anchorage around midday on 31 July after a risky transport along the Wadden Sea islands.
