All aboard !
The Fremantle Highway caught fire around midnight on July 25, 2023 in the North Sea. She had departed Bremerhaven, Germany and was bound for Singapore. She was carrying 3783 cars, including BMWs, Mercedes and Rolls-Royces. When the fire broke out, the Fremantle Highway was in the midst of heavy maritime traffic and close to the Wadden Islands, famous for their exceptional biodiversity. The evacuation of the 23 crew members, including 21 Indians, turned out very badly (1 fatality and 7 injured). The Fremantle Highway was towed to the port of Eemshaven in the Netherlands, and docked 9 days after the blaze started. The fire has been declared extinguished, but the Fremantle Highway was carrying 498 electric cars, and cobalt and lithium battery fires can be prone to unexpected resumption.
U-grain : Robin des Bois keeps a close watch (continued)
As of December 18, 2022, 563 ship departures from the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk, Odessa and Yuzhny have enabled the export of 14,194,211 tons of agricultural produce under the Agreement of July 22, 2022 between the United Nations, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey. The European Union (6,251,402 t), China (1,876,057 t) and Turkey (1,831,283 t) are the main importers. Intended to fight the global rise in foodstuff prices, the Agreement will also serve to fight thirst and beer shortages with the export of more than 600,000 tons of barley.
