Strong winds delay salvage of burning ship off Dutch coast

Officials said Saturday that strong winds delayed the recovery of a cargo ship loaded with electric vehicles that caught fire off the Dutch coast, as worries of an ecological calamity remained.

The smoking Fremantle Highway, where an electric car is suspected of starting the horrific wildfire late Tuesday, may not be relocated for several days, according to the national water management agency Rijkswaterstaat.

The fire has been extinguished, but a shift in winds has engulfed the rescue tug authorised to pull the vessel in smoke, endangering the crew’s health and safety.

The blaze was predicted to have “no direct consequences” for the local ecosystem, according to the agency.

The ship remains close to Terschelling and Ameland, which are part of an archipelago of ecologically sensitive islands in the Wadden Sea.

“We can be a bit more optimistic but the risk is still there,” said Manfred Santen with Greenpeace Germany, who visited the site Saturday and noted the “really terrible” odour being emitted.

The impact of chemicals released from the plastics and materials burning in the cars remain a concern, he said, particularly on micro-organisms and other species on the low end of the food chain which birds and fish rely on.

Japan-based K Line, the ship’s charter company, reported there were 3,783 cars on board the vessel, including 498 “electrical vehicle units”.

One sailor died after he and 22 others were rescued from the burning ship that had forced some crew members to jump overboard.