Car-carrier Fremantle Highway, which caught fire and claimed the life of one crew member and severely injured 22 others, is being towed to a Chinese yard for repair.
The vessel was made seaworthy at Damen Shipyards Verolme, where burned-out cars were removed. Photos show the fire-damaged decks removed, the main car deck and entry ramp open to the sky and the funnel jutting several decks high – no sign remains of the vessel’s deckhouse.
Acquired by Koole Contractors and its Dutch subsidiary, KMS, the vessel has been renamed Floor and is on its way to China to be repurposed as a new vessel.
The move follows a legal battle in which Dutch authorities forbade the vessel’s export on the grounds that it should be treated as waste, in accordance with the European Waste Shipment Regulation.
Dutch media say the vessel has since been acquired by China’s Qingshan Shipyard Group.
Qingshan’s claims that the vessel will be repurposed into a new ship are particularly credible, given the shortage of car-carrier tonnage that has seen PCTC earnings skyrocket over the past two years.
The cause of the Fremantle Highway fire is still unclear. However, there can be no doubt that the blaze, which lasted a week, was sustained by lithium batteries on electric cars (EVs).
While it was initially thought there were just 25 EVs on board, it later transpired that there had been 498 loaded, more than had been involved in the fire that had sank Felicity Ace the previous year.
“At this stage we have to recognise that there is a bad run of [fires], if not a concerning trend,” TT Club risk management director Peregrine Storrs-Fox told The Loadstar at the time.
The fire broke out directly aft of the bridge, forcing seven of the crew to leap over the side of the vessel – a fall of around 30 metres and an impact speed hitting the water of around 130 kph – rather than attempt to access davit-mounted lifeboats amidships.
