Cargo Ship Carrying Porsche and Volkswagen Vehicles Is on Fire in the Middle of the Atlantic Ocean

Nicholas Rice
·3 min read
3
Smoke billows from Felicity Ace, which was carrying thousands of vehicles from Germany to the US
Smoke billows from Felicity Ace, which was carrying thousands of vehicles from Germany to the US

Marinha.pt

A cargo ship carrying over a thousand Porsche and Volkswagen vehicles is on fire and adrift in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

The vessel caught fire on Wednesday and forced all 22 members of the crew to abandon the ship and leave it burning in the ocean, according to a news release from the Portuguese Navy.

At the time of the fire, the ship was said to be sailing 90 nautical miles southwest of Faial island in Portugal's Azores region, per the Navy. Rescue crews retrieved members of the ship and brought them there. The Portuguese Navy reported that none of the crew members were hurt.

The ship — named Felicity Ace — was traveling from Germany to the United States and was originally scheduled to arrive in Davisville, Rhode Island, next Wednesday, per a ship tracking website.

As of Thursday, the fire was still active on the ship, the Portuguese Navy said in a follow-up statement.

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Porsche; Volkswagen
Porsche; Volkswagen

Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images; Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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Able to carry a total of 4,000 cars, NPR reported that the ship was carrying thousands of Porsche and Volkswagen vehicles at the time of the incident. It is currently unclear how many vehicles were destroyed in the fire.

A spokesperson for Porsche Cars North America told The New York Times in a statement on Thursday that 1,100 Porsches were on board.

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In a statement to PEOPLE, a spokesperson for Porsche said, "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. We are in contact with the shipping company and the details of the cars onboard are [not] known."

Added the spokesperson: "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. Anyone concerned by this incident and the implications on the car they've ordered should contact their Porsche dealer."

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Volkswagen, meanwhile, told CNN in a statement, "We are aware of an incident involving a third-party cargo ship transporting Volkswagen Group vehicles across the Atlantic. The vessel was on its way to North America."

"At this time, we are not aware of any injuries. We are in contact with the shipping company to get more information about the incident," the statement added.

A representative for Volkswagen did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

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The ship's owner, Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, told the Associated Press that it "could not provide information about the cargo."

O.S.K. Lines did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.