February 18, 2022

PORTUGAL: 60,000-Ton Cargo Ship Carrying Almost 4,000 Cars, Including 1,100 Porsches Bursts Into Flames, Left Adrift In Atlantic Ocean Off The Coast Of The Azores Archipelago.

The Daily Caller, USA
written by Kay Smythe
Friday February 18, 2022

A 60,000-ton cargo ship carrying Porsches and other luxury vehicles caught fire Wednesday with 22 crew members aboard.

The fire started Wednesday morning in the Felicity Ace’s cargo hold, where at least 1,100 Porsches were held along with potentially a few thousand other vehicles, including Volkswagens, according to The New York Times. The Felicity Ace set sail Feb. 10 from Emden, Germany, and was traveling to Davisville, Rhode Island, according a ship tracking website.

Felicity Ace was off the coast of the Azores archipelago when the fire broke out and remained adrift near there as of Thursday morning, according to NPR. The Azores are part of Portuguese territory in the mid-Atlantic, and due to its massive size, the vessel will likely not be able to brought to one of the Azores Islands ports, according to a Portuguese Navy Spokesperson who spoke to the Associated Press.

The 22 crew members aboard were rescued Wednesday by the Portuguese Navy. None of the crew members or rescue forces were harmed in the helicopter-involved rescue mission, The NYT reported.

“Our immediate thoughts are of relief that the 22 crew of the merchant ship ‘Felicity Ace’ are safe and well. A number of our cars are among the cargo,” a spokesperson for Porsche’s North American division told NBC Bay Area. “We are in contact with the shipping company and the details of the cars on board are now known. While it remains too early to confirm what occurred and next steps, we are — along with our colleagues at Porsche AG — supporting our customers and our dealers as best we can to find solutions.”
BBC News, UK
written by Staff
Thursday February 17, 2022

Thousands of Porsche and Volkswagen cars have been abandoned on a cargo ship after it caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean en route to the US.

The ship, named Felicity Ace, was travelling from Emden in Germany before it caught ablaze off the coast of Portugal's Azores islands.

German newspaper Handelsblatt reported the vessel was carrying 3,965 vehicles, which also included Audis, Lamborghinis and a small number of Bentleys.

The ship's crew have been rescued.

Portugal's navy said no one was hurt by the fire, which broke out on Wednesday, and the 22 crew members were taken to a hotel after the navy, four merchant ships sailing in the area and the Portuguese Air Force completed the evacuation.

"The owner of the ship Felicity Ace is in contact with the logistic agent in order to draw up a plan for the towing of the ship," the navy said in a statement.

"So far, no source of pollution has been recorded."

According to Handelsblatt, an internal email from Volkswagen USA stated that the ship was carrying 3,965 vehicles of the VW, Porsche, Audi and Lamborghini brands.

Volkswagen did not confirm the number of cars on board, but Porsche said it had about 1,100 of its models on the ship.

The company said it was "aware of an incident involving a third-party cargo ship transporting Volkswagen Group vehicles across the Atlantic".

Bentley confirmed that 189 of its cars were also onboard the ship.

"We are working with the shipping company to find out further information," said a spokesman.

The ship was travelling to a Volkswagen factory in Davisville, Rhode Island, according to the website Marine Traffic.

One customer tweeted to say his Porsche was on board the abandoned ship.

No comments: