VIDEO: One dead in Fremantle Highway car carrier fire

Vessels responding to Fremantle Highway car carrier fire include Netherlands Coast Guard's Hunter.

The Netherlands Coast Guard is continuing to respond to a fire aboard the Shoei Kisen pure car carrier Fremantle Highway that broke out at 11.45 p.m., local time yesterday. The Coast Guard says there were 23 crew members on board and that their attempts to extinguish the fire themselves were unsuccessful. The fire continued to spread and, though crew members were evacuated by helicopters and lifeboats, one died and several were injured.

According to Shoei Kisen, the vessel was sailing to Singapore from Germany when the fire broke out. Media reports say that around 25 of the 2,857 vessels on board were electric. A live blog being frequently updated by the Coast Guard currently states that the cause of the fire has not been determined. However, the Reuters news agency reports that a spokesman had earlier stated that it began near an electric car.

Vessels on scene include the Coast Guard vessel Guardian, which has been spraying cooling water. The Coast Guard says salvage experts are on board assessing the situation. News agency ANP reports that Boskalis and Multraship Towage & Salvage have been brought in. It quotes Boskalis as saying that the current focus is on assessing the situation and cooling the ship in an attempt to save the it and its cargo

The Rederij Noordgat tug Hunter has an emergency connection to the Fremantle Highway and is keeping it in a controlled position.

The ship is on fire off the West Friesland island of Ameland in the environmentally-sensitive Wadden Sea area. Among agencies involved in the response is the Rijkswaterstaat, which is part of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and which says it is closely involved in the situation and is doing what it can to limit environmental damage.

Like other recent car carrier fires, the Fremantle Highway fire is expected to continue for days.