The Hague: Officials reported that plans were being made to salvage a cargo ship loaded with electric vehicles that caught fire off the Dutch coast in an effort to prevent a catastrophe for the environment.

The fatal fire is thought to have been started by an electric vehicle, and authorities earlier reported that there were far more electric vehicles aboard than originally thought.

Late on Tuesday, a fire broke out on the Fremantle Highway, killing one crew member who was entirely Indian and sparking a massive firefighting operation.

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The Rijkswaterstaat, the country's water management organisation, issued a statement saying that "the temperature on board the ship fell sharply and the intensity of the fire and smoke development have decreased."

"At this time, the cargo ship is stable. The ship does not tilt and is still intact below the surface of the water.

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Rescuers were able to board the freighter and connect it to a tug after which the agency and salvage firms "have now started preparations for towing the freighter to an area further east," according to the agency.

According to the report, towing the ship would probably take about 12 hours. It would then be towed to a temporary anchorage north of Schiermonnikoog island, providing "a better starting position for Rijkswaterstaat, the Coast Guard, and the collaborating salvage companies."

According to the agency, "no direct consequences" were anticipated for the environment, and the Fremantle Highway would eventually be towed to a port that had not yet been determined.

Although the weather and the level of smoke would have an impact on the timing, it was "likely that towing will begin this weekend."

On Thursday, efforts to put out the fire were suspended in order to keep the ship from becoming unstable from the amount of water that was amassing on board.

3,783 cars were on board the ship, according to Japan-based K Line, the ship's charterer, which is much more than the initial estimate of 3,000.
According to a statement from the company, there were 498 "electric vehicle units" among them and that they were "all brand new/no used cars on board."

There is a "good chance that the fire started with electric cars," according to ship owner Shoei Kisen Kaisha, but the exact cause needs to be looked into.

After he and 22 other sailors were saved from the burning ship that had forced some crew members to jump overboard, one sailor perished.

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On a nearby chain of islands, which includes Terschelling and Ameland, where the fire was first reported, the blaze has raised the threat of an ecological catastrophe.

The ship stayed close to Terschelling and Ameland, two islands in the Wadden Sea that are a part of an archipelago of ecologically delicate islands.
With more than 10,000 aquatic and terrestrial species, the region spanning the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.