Salvage firms begin removing cars from Fremantle Highway after cargo ship fire

Salvage companies started with the removal of cars from the burned-out cargo ship, Fremantle Highway, on Saturday morning. The vehicles are being removed from the ship via a car wash that was installed on the ship, recovery companies Boskalis and Multraship said through a spokesperson.

A fire broke out on the ship last month during the overnight hours between July 25 and July 26. One person was killed and several others were injured. There were a total of 23 people on board, 22 of whom had Indian nationality.

The ship was carrying 3,784 cars, nearly 500 of which were electric. It eventually emerged that about a thousand vehicles on the lower four decks still appeared to be in good condition. The upper decks were badly damaged and many cars that were parked were essentially fused to the decks.

The cars are being washed on board for environmental reasons. The water being used to wash the vehicles will be collected and disposed of afterwards, according to the salvage companies.

After the cars have passed through the mobile car wash, they will be disembarked and parked in a specially protected area in the port. From that moment on, it is up to the owner of the cargo and the inspectors to determine what happens to the cars, the spokesperson said.

Boskalis and Multraship expect the entire operation to take more than a week. During that period they want to disembark all cars from the lower four decks.

The cause of the fire is still not clear. As salvage companies, Boskalis and Multraship were not willing to comment about a possible cause of the blaze, the spokesperson said.