A blaze on a Shoei Kisen car carrier in the North Sea off the Netherlands has claimed the life of one seafarer.
A crew of 23 have now been evacuated from the 6,210-ceu Fremantle Highway (built 2013) after attempts to extinguish the fire failed.
The vessel was around 27 km north of the island of Ameland when the crew were evacuated.
It has now been towed out of the main shipping lanes.
The Fremantle Highway is listed as owned by Japan’s Shoei Kisen and operated by K Line.
It is registered in Panama and entered with the Japan P&I Club.
According to reports, the vessel was carrying 25 electric cars among the 3,000 vehicles on board the ship.
The cars had been loaded at Bremen, Germany, and were destined for Port Said in Egypt.
Electric vehicles have been associated with car carrier fires in the past.
Experts said that the car carrier is also likely to have been loaded with secondhand cars at Bremen for Egypt, which could have also raised the fire risk.
The fire is likely to be a costly one for insurers. Similar fires in the past have led to vessels being written off.
Reports suggest there is a danger of the vessel sinking.
VesselsValue estimates the worth of the hull at $78.5m, with the cargo loss also likely to run to a similar figure.
