Cargo ship Felicity Ace sinks off the Azores with 4,000 luxury cars on board

The Felicity Ace was flying the Panamanian flag. He had left Germany and was to join the United States. It was 90 nautical miles (regarding 170 kilometers) southwest of Faial Island when the alert was given.

The 22 crew members were quickly rescued and initially evacuated on board an oil tanker, which had been diverted on site to take part in the rescue operations, before being transported to the island of Faial aboard a military helicopter. In the days that followed, the fire continued to spread on board this approximately 200 meter long ship.

Lithium batteries were the cause of the disaster, according to several media, but the information has not been confirmed. Volkswagen said the vessel was carrying “nearly 4,000 vehicles from several brands of the group, including 1,100 Porsches”.