New owner looking to repair and flip fire-burnt car carrier Freemantle Highway

Netherlands-based Koole Contractors has become the new owner of the fire-damaged car carrier Fremantle Highway.

Koole Contractors will not be repairing the ship and getting into the car shipping business but will be looking to repair the ship and sell it to a willing customer.

According to Dutch media reports, Koole made several agreements with the previous owner, the nature of which was not disclosed. At the time of the fire, the ship was owned by Shoei Kisen Kaisha and was operated by K-Line, while Wallem Shipmanagement was the technical manager.

The ship will first be further emptied because there is still an uncertain amount of cargo on board. At the same time, an extensive inspection and inventory will be carried out and Koole will then develop a repair plan.

Gijs Olsthoorn, general manager of maritime projects at Koole, told local media that experts would examine which parts of the structure had been weakened by the heat.

Steel loses elasticity when exposed to extreme heat. Once a full inspection is made, Koole will demolish parts of the structure and prepare it for repairs and new construction with demolition probably being limited to the upper part of the ship due to the lower decks suffering very little damage.

The Fremantle Highway arrived at Damen Shiprepair in Botlek on Saturday, September 23, almost two months after a fire broke out on the cargo ship. The ship left Eemshaven last Thursday, where it had been moored since early August.

Even though the vessel is in a Damen yard it doesn’t mean it would be repaired there. Koole is still looking at their options regarding this. Currently, the dock is just being rented from Damen.