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Burning Car Carrier Towed to Temporary Location off Dutch Coast 

This handout photograph taken on July 29, 2023 and released on July 30, 2023 by the Dutch coastguards, shows smoke rising from the Panamanian-registered car carrier ship Fremantle Highway, after a fire broke out late on July 25, 2023, killing one crew member, and prompting a massive effort to extinguish the flames. (Photo by Handout / Netherlands Coastguards / AFP)
This handout photograph taken on July 29, 2023 and released on July 30, 2023 by the Dutch coastguards, shows smoke rising from the Panamanian-registered car carrier ship Fremantle Highway, after a fire broke out late on July 25, 2023, killing one crew member, and prompting a massive effort to extinguish the flames. (Photo by Handout / Netherlands Coastguards / AFP)
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Burning Car Carrier Towed to Temporary Location off Dutch Coast 

This handout photograph taken on July 29, 2023 and released on July 30, 2023 by the Dutch coastguards, shows smoke rising from the Panamanian-registered car carrier ship Fremantle Highway, after a fire broke out late on July 25, 2023, killing one crew member, and prompting a massive effort to extinguish the flames. (Photo by Handout / Netherlands Coastguards / AFP)
This handout photograph taken on July 29, 2023 and released on July 30, 2023 by the Dutch coastguards, shows smoke rising from the Panamanian-registered car carrier ship Fremantle Highway, after a fire broke out late on July 25, 2023, killing one crew member, and prompting a massive effort to extinguish the flames. (Photo by Handout / Netherlands Coastguards / AFP)

A burning car carrier off the Dutch coast has been towed to a new location away from shipping lanes as part of an operation to salvage the ship, the Dutch public works and water management ministry and local media said on Monday.

The freighter, which was travelling from Germany to Egypt when the blaze broke out on July 26, was towed to a location north of the Dutch islands Ameland and Schiermonnikoog, the Rijkswaterstaat ministry said in a statement.

The fire on the Panamanian-registered Fremantle Highway, which was carrying new cars, resulted in the death of an Indian crew member and the injury of seven who jumped overboard to escape the flames. Japan's Shoei Kisen, which owns the ship, said the entire crew of 21 was Indian.

A Rijkswaterstaat spokeswoman told the Dutch ANP press agency that at the new temporary location, the ship would be further removed from shipping routes and more sheltered from wind.

The relocation is an intermediate step in the difficult salvage operation, the spokeswoman said.

Ship charter company "K" Line said on Friday there were 3,783 vehicles on board the ship - including 498 battery electric vehicles, significantly more than the 25 initially reported.

The company declined to say anything about the car brands, including whether they included any cars from Japanese manufacturers.

EV lithium-ion batteries burn with twice the energy of a normal fire, and maritime officials and insurers say the industry has not kept up with the risks.

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Georgia's Election Took Place amid Widespread Intimidation. Vote Could Decide its Future in Europe

Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
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Georgia's Election Took Place amid Widespread Intimidation. Vote Could Decide its Future in Europe

Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)

European electoral observers said Sunday Georgia's election took place in a “divisive” environment with widespread intimidation and instances of physical violence which undermined the outcome of the vote which could decide the country's future in Europe.
The Central Election Commission said the ruling Georgian Dream won 54.8% of Saturday’s vote with almost 100% of ballots counted. Following a divisive pre-election campaign, initial figures suggested turnout is the highest since the ruling party was first elected in 2012, The Associated Press said.
Monitoring officials from the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe said they had multiple concerns about the conduct of the election including vote buying, double voting, physical violence and intimidation.
Georgian Dream, the ruling party, used hostile rhetoric, “promoted Russian disinformation” and conspiracy theories ahead of the election in an attempt to “undermine and manipulate the vote,” said Antonio Lopez-Isturiz White, the NATO parliamentary assembly head of monitoring delegation.
The conduct of the election is evidence that points to the ruling party's “democratic backsliding," he said.
Georgian electoral observers, who were stationed across the country to monitor the vote, also reported multiple violations and said the results “do not correspond to the will of the Georgian people.”
Georgian Dream has become increasingly authoritarian, adopting laws similar to those used by Russia to crack down on freedom of speech. Brussels suspended Georgia’s EU membership process indefinitely because of a “Russian law,” passed in June.
Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of Georgian Dream who made his fortune in Russia, claimed victory almost immediately after polls closed and said, “It is rare in the world for the same party to achieve such success in such a difficult situation.” He had vowed ahead of the election to ban opposition parties should his party win.
Tina Bokuchava, the chair of the United National Movement opposition party accused the election commission of carrying out Ivanishvili’s “dirty order” and said he “stole the victory from the Georgian people and thereby stole the European future.”
She indicated the opposition would not recognize the results and “will fight like never before to reclaim our European future.”
The UNM party said its headquarters were attacked on Saturday while Georgian media reported two people were hospitalized after being attacked outside polling stations.
The pre-election campaign in the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million people, which borders Russia, was dominated by foreign policy and marked by a bitter fight for votes and allegations of a smear campaign.
Some Georgians complained of intimidation and being pressured to vote for the governing party.
Georgian Dream scored its highest share of the vote — polling almost 90% — in the Javakheti region of southern Georgia, 135 kilometers (83 miles) west of the capital Tbilisi where it failed to get more than 44% of the vote in any district.
Before the election, The Associated Press traveled to the region where many people are ethnic Armenians who speak Armenian, Russian and limited Georgian. Some voters suggested they were instructed how to vote by local officials while several questioned why Georgia needed a relationship with Europe and suggested it would be better off allied with Moscow.
Around 80% of Georgians favor joining the EU, according to polls, and the country’s constitution obliges its leaders to pursue membership in that bloc and NATO. Many fear that Georgian Dream is dragging the country toward authoritarianism and killing off hopes of becoming an EU member.