Update: Friday’s update was that the captain of the nearest port told Reuters that Felicity Ace, which caught fire off the Azores coast, would now be towed to another European country or the Bahamas.
Captain Joao Mendes Cabecas of the port at Hortas stated that the fire was started by the lithium-ion battery packs onboard the electric cars. To put out the flames, you will need special equipment. It is unknown where the fire started.
Cabecas said that the ship was on fire at all ends… It is approximately five meters above the waterline.
Cabecas said that three towboats were currently on their way from Gibraltar into the Netherlands, and two more would arrive in Gibraltar before Wednesday. Cabecas said that the vessel could not be towable to Azores because it was too big and would restrict trade at the port.
Felicity Ace was a Panama-flagged car carrier Felicity Ace. It carried approximately 2,500 cars. The 1,100 Porsches were among the victims, as well as undetermined numbers of Volkswagens. Although 22 crew members were rescued by the Portuguese Navy, it is not clear what happened to the cars.
Luke Vandezande, spokeswoman for Autoblog, stated that her immediate thoughts were of relief that the 22 members of “Felicity Ace”, a merchant ship, are safe and sound. “Several of our vehicles are included in the cargo. He stated that they are in contact with the shipping company and details about the cars are known. Their dealer is in contact with customers who were affected by the incident.”
Vandezande said that it was too soon to know what happened or the next steps. However, Porsche AG and Porsche AG have committed to helping customers and dealers find solutions. “Anyone concerned about the incident and the implications it has on their car should get in touch with the dealer from which they placed their order.”
Vandezande confirmed the 1,100 Porsche vehicles that made up the majority of the 2,500 vehicles aboard. Vandezande couldn’t confirm the origins of any other makes or models in the ship’s hold. A fan site pointed out that the ship’s manifests from the past show a long history of delivering vehicles to VW Group. Customers who track their incoming ID.4 deliveries may believe that their cars might be onboard.
Felicity Ace was sailing between Emden (Germany) and Davisville (Rhode Island) when she noticed a fire at one of her decks. The crew was unable to extinguish the fire using the available equipment, even though it is too soon to know the cause. Portuguese-owned ship sent the distress signal south of Faial island. This location is near the middle of Atlantic. Resilient Warriors, an oil tanker, was one of several nearby vessels that rushed to help crewmembers on lifeboats. It doesn’t appear that anyone was seriously hurt, but more details are being discovered.
Website FleetMon discovered that the vessel, which measured 656 feet, had been abandoned and is currently drifting east. Website FleetMon states that tugboats will be sent to Felicity Ace in order for it to dock at a harbor. The website also states that the fire damage to the ship could cause the ship to be declared total loss.
Portugal’s Navy published photographs taken from the decks of an oil tanker. The photos show the ship as smoke, flames, and flames. It was also confirmed that Felicity Ace was transporting cars. Multiple sources claim that the majority of the cars in the hold were new Volkswagen or Porsche models. Rennlist screen shots show that the Stuttgart-based company claimed to have been aware of an incident aboard Felicity Ace which was a special cargo ship transporting certain Porsche cars.
This story will likely sound familiar. An Italian container ship called “Grande America” destroyed more than 2,000 Porsche and Audi cars in 2019, including four 911 GT2 RS models. The vessel, which was carrying an Italian cargo, caught fire. Porsche decided to bring the 911 GT2 RS (a limited-edition model) back into production to rebuild the units.
In Japan, the Felicity Ace was created in 2005. It can only transport cars. It weighs almost 20,000 tonnes, and measures 105 feet in length.
