Dutch salvage companies Smit and Multraship have been appointed salvors of the K Line-chartered car carrier Fremantle Highway, which caught fire off the coast of the Netherlands on Tuesday.
Well-placed sources within the salvage sector said the two companies have signed a Lloyds Open Form salvage agreement with Shoei Kisen Kaisha, the owner of the 6,220-ceu pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) Fremantle Highway (built 2013).
The fire is believed to have broken out on one of the Fremantle Highway’s vehicle decks and continued to burn on Thursday morning.
The crew immediately carried out emergency firefighting via onboard fire-suppression systems, but the situation could not be brought under control, Shoei Kisen said in a statement sent to TradeWinds in response to questions on Thursday.
Shoei Kisen did not directly address the appointment of professional salvors, only saying that the company was “working closely with emergency responders on salvage and firefighting operations”.
The crew, which K-Line said in a statement posted on its website comprised of 21 Indian nationals, was evacuated from the vessel but there was one reported death.
“We can sadly confirm that a crew member passed away following the evacuation,” Shoei Kisen said. “We are working to provide all necessary support to the next of kin during this difficult period.”
Dutch coastguard officials reported that several other seafarers on board the car carrier sustained injuries.
The Fremantle Highway was on a voyage from Bremerhaven to Port Said with a cargo of around 3,000 vehicles on board when the fire broke out.
Salvage sources told TradeWinds on Thursday that fires on board PCTCs are extremely difficult to extinguish as the fully enclosed car decks make it almost impossible to gain access to the fire and extinguish it using external fire-suppression resources. Flooding individual decks with water is likely to affect the ship’s stability and cause it to sink.
There was a similar fire on the 6,400-ceu Felicity Ace (built 2005) in February 2023 in the Azores. That ship eventually sank at sea while under tow.
The 6,400-ceu Sincerity Ace (built 2009), also owned by Shoei, was a constructive total loss after catching fire in the Pacific in 2018.
Most recent PCTC casualties have involved a loss of stability.
Claims consultancy WK Webster said in a casualty advice notice issued late on Wednesday that under the terms of an LOF salvage agreement, salvage security will be required to be provided by a party acceptable to the salvors or the Council of Lloyd’s on behalf of any salved cargo interests.
“If general average is declared, general average security may also be required from all salved cargo interests prior to the delivery of their cargo,” WKW said.
Protection and indemnity coverage for the Fremantle Highway is provided by the Japan P&I Club, according to S&P Global data.
There have been no reports of any pollution so far.
