Were EVs Behind Cargo Ship Blaze Off Dutch Coast? Mercedes-Benz, BMW Cars Said To Be Onboard

The cargo ship that caught fire off the coast of the Netherlands shortly before midnight local time on Tuesday reportedly had Mercedes-Benz Group MBGYY and BMW BMWYY vehicles onboard.

What Happened: The Fremantle Highway had 23 people on board and was traveling to Singapore from Bremerhaven. The ship caught fire near the Dutch island of Ameland, killing one crew member. The remaining people onboard were evacuated.

Though the Netherland coast guard has not ascertained the cause of the fire, it could have been due to one of the EVs onboard, a coast guard official told Dutch news agency ANP.

A Bloomberg report pegs the number of automobiles on the ship near 3,800 — some of which were made by Mercedes Benz and BMW. However, only 25 of these were electric, the report added.

The Netherlands coast guard, however, said, “We get a lot of questions about the exact number of electric cars aboard the Fremantle Highway. Our previous reporting is based on the first cargo list we received. There are now several numbers going around, which we cannot confirm.”

Update on the fire: As per the latest updates from the coast guard, the ship is now drifting north of Terschelling and the situation is stable.

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