NEW YORK.- A cargo ship full of luxury vehicles is adrift in the Atlantic Oceanfollowing a fire spread rapidly on board and force the crew evacuation.
The 656-foot Felicity Ace vehicle carrier caught fire in the Atlantic Wednesday while transporting cargo, including units of Porsche and Volkswagen, from Emden, Germany, to Davisville, Rhode Island, reported the chain CNN. At the time of the start of the fire, the ship was sailing 90 nautical miles southwest of Portugal’s Azoresaccording to a statement issued Wednesday by the Portuguese Navy.
The Felicity Ace It can carry a load of more than 17,000 tons. Cargo ships usually transport thousands of vehicles on various floors of the hold.
After the fire broke out in the cargo hold, it spread and forced all 22 crew to abandon ship.
A Portuguese navy ship sailed to the ship, which was crossing the Atlantic following from Emden, Germany, to Davisville, Rhode Island, according to online ship tracking services. The navy said in a statement that the fire was continuing and showed a photo of plumes of white smoke rising from the ship.
The job of the navy ship was to check if the ship was at risk of sinking or generating pollutionsaid Commander José Sousa Luís, a spokesman for the Portuguese navy.
The crew was evacuated by helicopter to the island of Faial, in the Portuguese archipelago, regarding 170 kilometers away, and was staying in a hotel there. They were all unharmed.
The ship’s owners have arranged for it to be towed while it continues to burn. Registered in Panama, the Felicity Ace is operated by the Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), which did not respond to request for comment.
Porsche confirmed to CNN Business that several of their cars were among the load and that its dealers are reaching out to customers with cars aboard the burning ship.
“While it is too early to confirm what has happened and the next steps, we are supporting our customers and dealers to the best of our ability to find solutions,” said Angus Fitton, vice president of public relations at Porsche Cars North America.
Future Porsche owners with cars on board, like journalist and presenter Matt Farah, who said he had a 2022 Porsche Boxster Spyder awaiting deliveryhave already started receiving news from dealers regarding the status of their vehicles.
“The dealership confirmed that my car, along with at least a dozen other vehicles, is in that boat,” Farah said. “They had no further information for me beyond confirming that my car was on the ship, and said that as soon as Porsche Cars North America had a plan of any kind on how to proceed, they would share the plans with me.”
