Berlin (Reuters) - The German government is warning of an environmental disaster in the North Sea in view of the car freighter still on fire in Dutch waters and is offering German help.

"The unique Wadden Sea National Park is in serious danger," said Environment Minister Steffe Lemke (Greens) on Thursday. "Germany will do everything it can to help." Transport Minister Volker Wissing expressed similar sentiments. "We are supporting our friends from the Netherlands wherever necessary in the salvage of the cargo ship in the North Sea," the FDP politician wrote on the short messaging service X, formerly known as Twitter. "The CCME is prepared and will help in close coordination." The aim is to prevent an environmental disaster.

A completely normal car transport by sea could potentially develop into an environmental disaster of unprecedented proportions, said Lemke. "That fills me with deep concern." It cannot be ruled out that the ship involved in the accident will sink. "Should that happen, large quantities of fuel and other environmentally harmful pollutants from the cargo of the freighter could contaminate the sensitive ecosystem of the North Sea over a large area," warned Lemke. The Wadden Sea National Park would then be at risk. "We must do everything we can to prevent this."

The fire that broke out on the "Fremantle Highway" off the Dutch coast on Tuesday evening has not yet been extinguished. "The fire on board is still going on," the Dutch coastguard announced on Thursday morning. Specialists from a salvage company were on a ship near the ill-fated freighter to get an idea of the situation. The coastguard also announced that it would monitor the situation by plane.

The "Fremantle Highway", registered in Panama, was around 27 kilometers north of the island of Ameland when the fire broke out on Tuesday evening. One person died as a result. According to the coastguard, the cause was probably an electric car that caught fire. The freighter was on its way from Germany to Egypt. It had 2857 cars on board, 25 of which were electric cars. Around 350 cars were from Mercedes-Benz, according to the Stuttgart-based car manufacturer. The company is in close coordination with the transport service provider. According to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, 1600 tons of heavy fuel oil and a further 200 tons of marine diesel are also on board. In addition, there were possible tank contents of the transported vehicles as well as combustion residues and extinguishing water.

The Dutch coastguard explained that they are preparing for all scenarios. This also includes the possibility of the 199-meter-long ship sinking. The crew had tried in vain to extinguish the fire. Several of the 23 people jumped from the ship, the others were brought to safety by helicopter. There have been several fires on board car freighters in recent years.

(Report by Rene Wagner, edited by Sabine Ehrhardt - If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com)