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The “Felicity Ace” is currently driving off the Azores and had loaded 4,000 cars from the VW Group, among other things. Among them should also be Audis, Bentleys and Porsches.
A 200-meter-long cargo ship caught fire near the Azores. It was supposed to deliver cars, including around 4000 Porsches and VWs, from Germany to the USA.
(Video: Adriel Monostori)
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A fire broke out on a freighter in the Atlantic. Among other things, 1100 Porsches and probably 189 Bentleys were loaded on it.
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The crew might be saved.
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The freighter should transport the high-quality cars from Germany to the USA.
According to the Portuguese Navy, a freighter with around 4,000 German cars from the Volkswagen group caught fire on the Atlantic south of the Azores. The 22 crew members gave up the almost 200-meter-long “Felicity Ace” and were taken to safety, a spokesman said on Friday for the German Press Agency. The ship’s position remains stable and there is currently no risk of fuel catching fire or spilling from the ship into the sea, the spokesman added.
A spokesman for VW in Wolfsburg confirmed that cars from the VW Group are on board. He did not say how many vehicles and which brands. According to the news agency «Bloomberg» A spokesman for Porsche confirmed that there were 1,100 vehicles of this brand on the ship at the time of the fire. Several media reports that 189 Bentleys might also be affected by the fire.
Custom Destroyed?
The fire on the car transporter flying the Panamanian flag, which was reportedly en route from Emden to Davisville in the US state of Rhode Island, broke out on Wednesday on one of the car decks, the marine spokesman said. Videos on the Internet showed smoke rising from the huge ship.
Car enthusiast and podcast operator “The Smoking Tire” Matt Farah was heartbroken on Instagram because his 2022 Boxster Spyder in “Frozen Berry” metallic livery is apparently also on the cargo ship. He had ordered this in August 2021 and had it modified according to his wishes. The price is estimated at $123,000. Afterwards he asked himself: «Hey guys, where is my car? It seems like it’s now becoming part of an artificial reef.”
organized towing service
The Portuguese Navy’s patrol boat “Setúbal” is with the ship, which is regarding 170 kilometers south-west of the Azores island of Faial. Experts from a Dutch salvage company are expected on Friday to examine the possibility of towing the ship to a port, Portuguese news agency Lusa reported.
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(DPA/pco)