AMSTERDAM, July 28 (Reuters) - The car carrier burning off the Dutch coast since Tuesday night is carrying nearly 500 electric vehicles, ship charter company "K" Line said on Friday, significantly more than the 25 initially reported by the coastguard.
There were 3,783 vehicles on board, including 498 battery electric vehicles, a Tokyo-based spokesperson for K Line (Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha), which had chartered the vessel, said.
He declined to say anything about the car brands, including whether or not it included any cars from Japanese manufacturers.
An investigation has been launched by the Panama Maritime Authority and the Netherlands is assisting the inquiry, the Dutch Safety Board has said.
The 199-metre (653 ft) Fremantle, which is still burning, is drifting about 17 km from the northernmost Dutch coast, the coastguard said.
Persons:
Miranda Murry, Daniel Leussink, Marine Strauss, Anthony Deutsch, Tassilo Hummel, Philippa Fletcher
Organizations:
coastguard, Panamanian, Fremantle Highway, K Line, Kawasaki, RTL, Panama Maritime Authority, Dutch Safety, Fremantle, Thomson
Locations:
AMSTERDAM, Tokyo, Dutch, Netherlands, Germany, Egypt, Wadden, Denmark