Fremantle Highway: Fire-damaged cargo ship towed into Dutch port of Eemshaven

The Panamanian-flagged freighter carrying 3,700 cars was travelling from Germany to Egypt when it caught fire

Stricken cargo ship Fremantle Highway is towed into the port of Eemshaven, the Netherlands, on August 3. AP

A freighter carrying thousands of cars, which caught fire in the North Sea last week, was towed into a Dutch port on Thursday, averting an environmental disaster.

The Fremantle Highway was taken in by tugboats to the northern port of Eemshaven, where dozens of spectators lined a sea wall to watch the scorched, blackened hulk move slowly into the harbour.

The vessel caught fire on July 25 while carrying 3,700 vehicles, including almost 500 electric cars and many luxury vehicles.

One sailor died jumping from the ship and 22 others were rescued.

"I can confirm the ship has arrived in Eemshaven," Jente Wieldraaijer, a spokeswoman for the regional safety authority, told AFP.

Dutch Infrastructure Minister Mark Harbers said the fire appeared to be out and there was "no question of any outflow of liquids or other matter".

The tug journey from a holding position about 64km away "went without any problems", said the Dutch infrastructure and water management agency.

"The owner of the ship remains responsible for the further handling of the cargo and everything that goes with it."

The ship is expected to remain at the port until October while salvage operations are carried out and the cars are removed, harbour master Pieter van der Wal said.

"I am very happy that it all worked out," Mr van der Wal said.

Port workers later stacked a wall of yellow shipping containers around the moored ship, hiding it from view, AFP reported.

The Panamanian-flagged freighter, which was travelling from Germany to Egypt when it caught fire, is owned by Japanese company Shoei Kisen Kaisha and was being chartered by Japan-based K Line.

The blaze had raised fears of an ecological disaster on the nearby Wadden chain of islands, an area spanning the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, which has been declared a Unesco World Heritage Site.

While the situation had been largely under control for days, recent bad weather in the North Sea raised further concerns that the ship could leak oil or even sink while being towed to port.

"This time the Wadden Sea has escaped a major environmental disaster," local environment group the Wadden Association said.

"However, we continue to be very concerned about shipping that takes place north of the Wadden Islands."

Hundreds of shipping containers fell off one of the world's largest cargo ships after a storm in the same area in 2019, littering pristine coastline with plastic.

The cause of the fire on the Fremantle Highway remains unclear, although the owner said one of the electric vehicles on board may have been the source.

The blaze forced several members of the all-Indian crew to jump overboard from heights of up to 30 metres, including the man who died.

Some were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation or injuries from the fall.

The freighter was carrying 3,783 new cars, including 498 electric vehicles, K Line said.

They included BMWs, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi and Lamborghini brands, with the total loss likely to exceed €300 million ($328m), Dutch news agency ANP reported.