A sinking cargo ship carrying more than 3,700 cars is still burning at sea two days after a fire – which was allegedly caused by an electric car – broke out and killed one crew member.
Salvage crews dealing with the ship off the Dutch coast have boarded the vessel for the first time as heat, flames and smoke eased.
he entire crew was evacuated from the ship in the early hours of Wednesday, with some leaping into the sea and being picked up by a lifeboat. The cause of the fire has not been established.
The Fremantle Highway was 14 miles north of the island of Terschelling on Friday afternoon, close to busy North Sea shipping lanes and an internationally renowned migratory bird habitat.
K Line, the company that chartered the ship, said on Friday that it was carrying far more electric vehicles than initially reported by the coastguard.
Company spokesman Pat Adamson said the ship was carrying a total of 3,783 new vehicles, including 498 electric vehicles.
The coastguard, citing an early freight list, had said it was carrying 2,857 cars, including 25 electric cars.
The US National Transportation Safety Board has warned about the possible dangers of electric vehicle battery fires, a hazard that stems from thermal runaway, a chemical reaction that causes uncontrolled battery temperature and pressure increases.
The effects of the burning has serious efnvironmental implications, ValidViewNetwork reports.
