Amsterdam, 31 July 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Salvage specialists were towing away a burning, heavily loaded car freighter off the Dutch coast to a safer, temporary mooring on Sunday evening.

The 200-metre-long ship is being towed by two tugboats, the responsible agency within the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management said.

Salvage crews had postponed the manoeuvre at the last minute on Saturday night due to the weather conditions.

However, they began efforts to tow the Fremantle Highway cargo ship from the Dutch island of Terschelling eastwards to the island of Schiermonnikoog, in the Wadden Sea, early Sunday evening.

The operation is considered risky as the vessel with about 3,800 cars on board was still burning and the wind direction and smoke from the vessel previously made the manoeuvre impossible.

There are concerns that it could break up or capsize en route, which would result in an environmental catastrophe. The beaches and dunes of the string of small islands in the Wadden Sea are important areas for migratory birds.

Experts had earlier prepared the vessel for towing and said precautions were being taken against any spillage of pollutants.

Extinguishing water has not deployed in a targeted manner as it could cause the ship to capsize.

"We are keeping ourselves informed and holding our breath," the mayor of Schiermonnikoog, Ineke van Gent, tweeted.

The ministry assured that the ship was constantly being monitored and its stability checked. It said that freighter remained stable and intact, even below the waterline.

"Other vessels from the water authority and from Germany are also on standby should there be an oil spill," the ministry said.

The freighter was to be repositioned 16 kilometres north of Schiermonnikoog until a final harbour is found.

The new anchorage was said to be safer, because the ship had been situated between two very busy shipping routes to and from Germany - a situation likened to a burning lorry loaded with oil sitting between two motorways.

The new location is quieter and more sheltered from the wind, the agency said. The freighter will then stay there for the time being until a port is found.

The journey is expected to take 12 to 14 hours, with the tugs moving at about 5.5 kilometres per hour.

The Panama-flagged ship was originally heading from Bremerhaven in Germany to Singapore when it caught fire in the early hours of Wednesday off the island of Ameland, which neighbours Terschelling. One person died during the evacuation of the crew.

Experts speculated that the fire started from the battery of one of the electric cars on the freighter, but this has not been confirmed. About 500 electric cars are on board.

Photo: The Netherlands Coastguard