A freighter loaded with fertilizer that caught fire at sea arrived safely late Monday in a northern German port, according to dpa. The freighter Purple Beach reached Wilhelmshaven late Monday and dropped anchor, said officials at Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies in the nearby port of Cuxhaven. The 13-hour journey from its location about 30 kilometres from Helgoland, an island in the German North Sea archipelago, went smoothly, the command said. Several tug boats and ships carrying emergency response personnel accompanied the 192-metre-long damaged freighter to Wilhelmshaven. Fire units were on hand when it arrived, and a security watch was set up to monitor the ship overnight. The Purple Beach, which is carrying 6,000 tons of fertilizer, caught fire more than week ago. Officials reported Sunday the fire had been extinguished. Thousands of tons of sea water sprayed by water cannon from emergency response ships were used to stop the fire after the crew noticed heat and smoke coming from the ship's cargo hold. The cause was unknown as was the extent of the damage. Martime authorities initially feared the ship would explode. Even after the fire was extinguished, the ship continued to smoulder. The crew was safely evacuated to land, with some suffering mild smoke inhalation symptoms. No one was seriously injured. The Marshall Islands-flagged Purple Beach, which is owned by Hamburg-based MACS shipping company, was travelling from Antwerp, Belgium to the German port of Brake when the blaze erupted.
