Car Transporter MV Fremantle Highway go up in flames in the North Sea last year, consuming thousands of brand new Mercedes, BMWs and Minis. Some of the cars on board were in good enough condition to be salvaged, refurbished and sold, but BMW apparently didn’t want anyone to buy them.
In the summer of 2023, the MV Fremantle Highway began its journey from Germany to Egypt with nearly 4,000 vehicles on board. A fire that experts suspect started with EV battery failurebroke coast of the Netherlandskilling one of the 23 crew members.
After the fires were extinguished, many of the cars were still in good condition. Good enough to sell, or so the insurance company thought. However, BMW blocked the sale, because Drive report:
Surprisingly, about a quarter of the 3,857 cars on board were described as undamaged. Maritime Executive Director. A quarter of them—260 BMWs, to be exact—will be sold by a Taiwanese insurance company, whose buyer will then resell the shipment to a group of Dutch speculators under the terms of the contract. Northern Times. The Dutch group reportedly claimed the cars were in good condition, only covered in soot from the fire, and wanted to resell the salvaged cars. But BMW car is nothing
The automaker reportedly filed for a preliminary injunction in a Dutch court last December, citing concerns about the safety of the cars and the risk of damage to its reputation if they were allowed to be sold. A lawyer for the company said the cars were written off by the insurer as “total losses” and that they had damaged structural metal, wiring and paint. They also said that other intact cars rescued from the ship, notably Audis and Mercedes-Benzes, were recycled rather than resold due to their condition.
So maybe the condition of the cars is worse than people think. The Dutch seem to really want these cars. They are willing to compromise with BMW and sell these cars outside of Europe because of “less stringent car quality standards” according to Northern TimesThe court is expected to rule on whether the cars should be sold on July 15.
If you are looking and interested in purchasing one of these cars, remember, buying a damaged car in situations like flood and fire may occur business riskIt is even more dangerous if you discover damage. long after that.
