Dutch Cargo Ship Fire: Dutch authorities delay plan to tow burning cargo ship | Oneindia News - video Dailymotion

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Fire erupted in the Fremantle Highway late Tuesday night near a chain of islands in the northern Netherlands and has been blazing ever since. Salvage crews were preparing Saturday to tow a car-carrying cargo ship that has been burning for days to an anchor point in the North Sea after flames and smoke on board subsided.  The operation of moving the Fremantle Highway from the Dutch coast, a UNESCO World Heritage site for the aquatic and terrestrial species it hosts, and closer to the north of Schiermonnikoog island temporarily aims to avert an ecological disaster. However, later on Saturday evening, authorities said the operation would likely be delayed by several days, having initially said they hoped to start over the weekend.    #DutchCargoShipFire #NetherlandsShipFire #CargoShipFire #DutchShip #DutchCargoShipTowing #DutchShipFire #ElectricCars                 ~HT.99~ED.152~ED.101~

Transcript

00:00 Fire erupted in the Free Mantle Highway earlier this week near a chain of islands in the northern

00:15 Netherlands and has been blazing ever since.

00:18 Salvage crews were preparing Saturday to tow a car carrying cargo ship that had been burning

00:23 for days to an anchor point in the North Sea after flames and smoke on board subsided.

00:30 The operation of moving the Free Mantle Highway from the Dutch coast, a UNESCO World Heritage

00:34 Site for the aquatic and terrestrial species it hosts, and closer to the north of Shreemani

00:40 Kogu Island, temporarily aims to avert an ecological disaster.

00:43 However, late on Saturday evening, authorities said that the operation would likely be delayed

00:48 by several days, having initially said they hoped to start over the weekend.

00:54 So why have the authorities delayed the towing operation?

00:58 Measurements Friday showed that heat, flames and smoke had subsided enough for salvage

01:04 experts to board the ship for the first time and establish a strong towing connection with

01:09 a tugboat.

01:10 The temperature on board the ship had dropped sharply and the intensity of the fire and

01:14 smoke development had decreased.

01:17 The agency added that the cargo ship was also stable, still intact below the waterline and

01:23 does not tilt.

01:24 Shortly before 10pm, the Rijswatersraad issued an update saying that south-westerly winds

01:30 meant it had decided it was not yet safe to start the operation.

01:34 It said that the current winds would ensure that the smoke is drawn over the tugboat during

01:39 the entire towing operation of the ship.

01:42 So if the recovery company starts towing now, this is not without risks and the safety and

01:47 health of the crew always comes first, the authority said, adding that it anticipated

01:52 similar winds for the next few days.

01:55 Efforts to put down the fire for the past few days were carefully calculated and water

01:59 had to be used comparatively sparingly for fear of sinking the ship and consequently

02:04 prompting an ecological disaster.

02:07 The ship was carrying 3,783 cars, including 498 electric cars, its Japan-based charter

02:14 company K-Line said.

02:16 Authorities feared the car parts, batteries and fuel would damage the ecologically sensitive

02:20 site and harm its inhabitants.

02:22 Ship owner Shoike Senkaisha suggested the fire started on one of the electric vehicles, whose

02:27 lithium-ion batteries can be very difficult to extinguish and can spontaneously reignite

02:33 after they catch fire or explode.

02:36 The actual cause of the fire is yet to be confirmed.

02:38 The towing operation is expected to take around 12 hours.

02:42 The fire killed one member of the all-Indian crew of the ship.

02:59 [MUSIC PLAYING]

Dutch Cargo Ship Fire: Dutch authorities delay plan to tow burning cargo ship | Oneindia News

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