Battered and fire-struck car carrier finally reaches port

The battered and bruised Fremantle Highway reached its resting place in Eemshaven port on Thursday around 2 PM local time, nine days after catching fire.

The tow of the fire-damaged car carrier from its mooring position some 16 km north of Schiermonnikoog started yesterday morning.

The vessel originally caught fire 27 km north of Ameland but was towed to a temporary location between July 30 and July 31.

During the tow to Eemshaven, the ship was accompanied by eight vessels – Gustav Meyer, Arca, Multratug 20, Multrasalvor, Guardian, Barney, Fairplay 30, and Waterlines – owned by either the Coast Guard, Multraship Towage, Smit Salvage or by the Directorate-General of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, otherwise known as Rijkswaterstaat.

During the entire tow the Dutch Coast Guard was monitoring the situation from the air and a salvage team was aboard the vessel to keep an eye on the status of the ship from inside.

Before the start of the tow, the situation onboard the cargo ship was still stable. Most of the ship was inspected and there were no indications of a fire.

This also attracted interest from the locals as they came in great numbers to the port so they could watch the car carrier arrive in Eeemshaven.

Ultimately, the ship was towed to Julianahaven, one of the four sections of the Eeemshaven port, on the Wagenborg quay. To enable a smooth operation, the port was closed for all other shipping activities.

After the ship was moored, the mayor of Groningen Koen Schuiling called for the Dutch Marine Fire Brigade to keep watch. Eleven firefighters – specialised in ship firefighting – are on-site if a fire flares up again.

Firefighters will be monitoring the car carrier through the weekend. The Marine Fire Brigade also brought an aerial work platform, a tanker sprayer, and a support vehicle.