Dutch safety board calls for urgent improvements after deadly North Sea cargo ship blaze
Protocols for responding to emergencies on busy North Sea shipping routes off the Dutch coast must be urgently improved, an independent Dutch safety watchdog said Thursday in a report into a deadly blaze on a cargo ship.
The warning by the Dutch Safety Board came in its report about emergency services' response to a fierce fire that broke out on the night of July 25, 2023, on the Fremantle Highway freighter that was carrying nearly 3,000 automobiles, including nearly 500 electric vehicles, from Germany to Singapore.
One of the 23 people on board was killed and six others were injured after jumping overboard to escape smoke churning out of the ship's cargo hold about 27 kilometers (17 miles) north of the Dutch island of Ameland. The remaining 16 people were rescued using helicopters.
During the mission by Dutch maritime rescuers, 'the focus for too long was on firefighting instead of saving the crew,' the report said.
It added that poor information sharing between different rescuers and emergency services on land meant authorities were not fully prepared when 16 survivors who also required medical help were flown to shore, causing delays in transferring them to hospitals.
'In order to be well prepared for future incidents at sea, the emergency assistance system must be put in order as soon as possible. Various improvements are needed for this, both at the Coastguard and at the relevant safety regions,' the report said in recommendations to the government.
The Dutch report did not look into or comment on the cause of the fire. Maritime authorities in Panama were investigating the cause because the ship was flying under a Panamanian flag.
The fire burned out of control for a week as the stricken freighter floated near shipping lanes and the shallow Wadden Sea, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed migratory bird habitat. It was eventually towed to a port in the northern Netherlands for salvage.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Telegraph
Battle of Britain pilot's grave identified 85 years later
On Wednesday, a rededication ceremony took place at the gravesite, with a new Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone with his name placed. The service was conducted by Reverend Squadron Leader Jonathan Stewart and attended by relatives of Flying Officer Cox as well as the Dutch historian who made it happen. Andy Saunders, a Battle of Britain historian and author, said: 'The identification and marking of the grave site of Flying Officer Philip Cox highlights the fact that, 85 years after the Battle of Britain, a full one-third of the casualties of that battle remain officially unaccounted for.' Flying Officer Cox was born in Brighton in July 1915. During the Battle of Britain, he claimed a Me109 and shared in the destruction of another on July 20. On July 27, he led a squadron into a dog fight over Dover Harbour when he was shot down in Hurricane P3808. He was 25 years old. His mother, Winifred, a widow by this time, wrote a letter to the mother of a colleague of her son. She wrote: 'I have bad news. Philip lost his life last Saturday July 27th while leading the squadron into an engagement off the Southeast coast during the squadron leader's absence. 'The squadron had moved to Gravesend two days previously. Phil phoned me to meet him at Shoreham on Sunday the 21st – his birthday – after tea which I did and I took him back on Tuesday midday and saw him take off. '[His brother] Bob also turned up unexpectedly on Monday, so for the last time here we had the children all together. 'I had a very nice letter from his Squadron Leader this morning. I feel he is with my husband who was very devoted to him. Phil always enjoyed himself so much at your house. 'Thank you for being so nice to him.' Her other son, Robert, was killed four years later when the minesweeper he was on was sunk in the English Channel. During the Battle of Britain, 179 RAF airmen were lost at sea and not recovered.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Lechlade boat explosion sees couple rescue six people
A couple who saved the lives of four children and two adults have been praised for their "heroic bravery" after a boat exploded on the River Thames. Josh Hobbs, 35, and Hannah Lloyd-Hobbs, 34, from Rhayader, Powys, leapt into the water to save six people after the boat burst into flames. The couple were walking along the Thames with their dog near Lechlade while on holiday on the Wiltshire-Oxfordshire border on Saturday 31 May when the incident took place. Det Supt Joe Garrity, of Wiltshire Police, said it was a "miracle" there were no fatalities, adding much of that was down to the response of the couple. Mr Hobbs said the couple were less than 10 minutes into their walk when they heard an "almighty bang – the kind where the air pressure around your head goes".The couple said they looked round and instantly heard screaming on the boat. Mr Hobbs said those on the boat were shouting that they could not swim but the pair reassured them to jump in the river."I think my voice tone changed and people ended up in the water. One of them was an 18-month-old – Hannah instantly dived in to grab the baby. I had my foot on the dog's lead and was screaming for the others to get off the boat," he said. Ms Lloyd-Hobbs rescued the baby and returned to the river bank, while Mr Hobbs entered the water and grabbed the two young children, taking them to the bank."There was a three-year-old being held up by a family member. He was in desperation as he couldn't swim and was trying to keep the child above the water," he said. "This lady had been underwater for quite some time, and I think she was in a worse place in terms of her condition so I grabbed her. At the same time I think her husband, in panic, also jumped on me as well."Mr Hobbs, who managed to get the three-year-old to safety, said at one point his partner looked back and there were four people hanging off him. The explosion was heard for miles around bringing other members of the public to the scene. They helped Mr Hobbs get the rest of the party out of the water and stepped in to administer first aid, relaxing only when the air ambulance crews Police said five adults and four children aged from 18 months to seven years old ended up in the water. Nine people were taken to hospital where three remain in a stable condition. Two people, including the 18-month-old child, suffered potentially life-changing Supt Garrity said it was a "miracle that there were no fatalities"."Much of that must be put down to the response of two holidaymakers from Wales who happened to be passing."With no thought for their own safety they jumped into the Thames to help save the lives of those involved – some of whom couldn't swim," he said.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
Professor prosecuted over tweets calling for Jews to be ‘de-Zionised'
An academic is facing a private prosecution over social media posts calling for Jews to be 'de-Zionised'. The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has brought three charges against Prof David Miller over posts on X. They allege that he used a public communications network to send messages of a menacing character, contrary to the Communications Act 2003. Prof Miller was previously found to have been unfairly and wrongfully dismissed by the University of Bristol in October 2021 after making comments criticising Israel. 'Zionist subversion' The CAA said the first message was posted on Nov 8 last year in relation to a discussion on violence in Amsterdam after a football match involving an Israeli team. It said: 'Last night's response by the brave Muslim communities of Amsterdam was necessary, but extremely measured and not at all proportional to the genocidal violence unleashed by Zionist terrorists on the Levant, on Muslims worldwide, or indeed in the provocations that preceded the measured response. Future incidents will likely involve a more proportional response. 'As well as being unwelcoming to Zionist colonists coming from Occupied Palestine, Europe must be unviable as a base for Zionist terror by Jewish supremacists who have infiltrated and are camouflaged among us. 'Zionist terrorist entryists must be expunged from European institutions, whether political parties, media, think tanks or elsewhere. Again, either institutions take the lead and conduct this work in orderly fashion with advice from experts on Zionist subversion, or the people will take care of it for them.' '#DismantleZionism' The first hearing is set to take place at Westminster magistrates' court on July 2, HM Courts & Tribunals Service confirmed. Prof Miller is alleged to have sent another message on March 20, saying: 'Every genuinely anti-Zionist Jew can count on being kept safe by the movement, when the time comes. Every Zionist Jew must be held accountable and de-Zionised. #DismantleZionism.' On March 24, he is said to have made another post saying: 'Protests are not enough. Listen to our brothers and sisters in Gaza. 'Those who are interested in ending this genocide must begin by targeting those responsible near them: the entire Zionist movement globally must live in fear of accountability until it is dismantled and its ideology eradicated. And let's be clear, there are Zionists everywhere. In every town and city. Find out where they are. #DismantleZionism.' He successfully claimed at an employment tribunal last year that he experienced discrimination based on his anti-Zionist belief. The CAA describes itself as an organisation of volunteers that works to 'expose and counter antisemitism through education and zero-tolerance enforcement of the law'.
