THE HAGUE: A burnt-out car transport ship was towed to a northern Dutch port on Thursday more than a week after catching fire at sea, averting a feared environmental disaster.
The Fremantle Highway arrived at Eemshaven port after a journey from a holding position, with local media images showing tugs dragging the scorched ship into the harbor.
One sailor died and 22 others were rescued after the Panamanian-flagged ship, carrying hundreds of electric cars among more than 3,700 vehicles, caught fire off the Dutch coast on July 25.
“I can confirm the ship has arrived in Eemshaven,” Jente Wieldraaijer, a spokesperson for the regional safety authority told AFP.
The blaze had raised the spectre 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 several days, bad weather in the North Sea raised further concerns it could leak oil or even sink while being towed to port.
The vessel had previously been anchored at a holding position 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of the islands of Schiermonnikoog and Ameland, where it was towed over Sunday and Monday.
A boat designed for cleaning up oil spills remained near the ship throughout the journey.
The cause of the fire remains unclear, although the vessel’s owner has said one of the electric vehicles on board may have been the source.
According to Japan-based K Line, the ship’s charter company, the freighter was carrying 3,783 new cars, including 498 electric vehicles.
Some crew members were forced to jump overboard from significant heights after it caught fire and a number were taken to hospital.
Burnt-out car transport ship reaches Dutch port
https://arab.news/5nhgp
Burnt-out car transport ship reaches Dutch port
- One sailor died and 22 others were rescued after the Panamanian-flagged ship caught fire off the Dutch coast on July 25
- The blaze had raised the spectre of an ecological disaster on the nearby Wadden chain of islands
Bangladesh summons Myanmar envoy after border clashes
- A dozen villages in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district have been affected by the violence
DHAKA: Bangladesh on Tuesday summoned the ambassador of Myanmar after civil war gun battles in the neighboring country spilled over the border, wounding a Bangladeshi girl.
Heavy fighting in Myanmar’s Rakhine state this month has involved junta soldiers, Arakan Army fighters and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army militia guerrillas.
Authorities said around a dozen villages in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district have been affected by the violence.
Twelve-year-old Huzaifa Afnan was struck by a bullet, while a Bangladeshi fisherman had his leg ripped off after stepping on a landmine near the frontier.
“Bangladesh reminded that the unprovoked firing towards Bangladesh is a blatant violation of international law and a hindrance to good neighborly relations,” a Foreign Ministry press statement said.
Myanmar’s ambassador to Bangladesh, U Kyaw Soe Moe, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, where he expressed sincere sympathy to the injured victims and their families.
“My daughter was supposed to go to school, but she is on a ventilator,” Afnan’s father Jasim Uddin said. “My heart is bleeding for my baby girl.”
More than a million Rohingya have fled their homes in Myanmar, many after a 2017 military crackdown, and now eke out a living in sprawling refugee camps just across the border in Bangladesh.
ARSA, a Rohingya armed group formed to defend the persecuted Muslim minority, has been fighting the Myanmar military, as well as rival Arakan Army guerrillas.
On Monday, Bangladeshi border forces detained 53 ARSA fighters who had crossed the frontier.
Bangladeshi police officer Saiful Islam, commander of the local Teknaf station, said all detainees were being held in jail, except one fighter who was receiving hospital treatment for bullet wounds.
“These individuals have a history of living in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and crossing into Myanmar,” Islam told AFP.
