NEW DELHI, Feb 18: A cargo ship carrying luxury cars for delivery has been left unmanned going adrift in the Atlantic Ocean after it caught fire near Azores islands.
Official sources said all the 22 crew members aboard the ship had been successfully evacuated and to a hotel by the Portuguese navy and air force who played a crucial role in evacuating the crew from the burning ship. According to a statement from the Portuguese Navy, the ship itself was left unmanned and adrift on Wednesday.
The ship Felicity Ace, a massive Panama-flagged cargo ship was carrying nearly 4,000 cars of the Volkswagen Group when it caught fire on Wednesday. An internal email from Volkswagen’s U.S. operations revealed there were 3,965 Volkswagen AG vehicles aboard the ship. Headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany, the group manufactures its Volkswagen brand, as well as Porsche, Audi, and Lamborghini- all of which were in tow when the vessel set ablaze, the email said.
Over 100 of those cars were headed for Port of Houston in Texas, with GTI, Golf R, and ID.4 models deemed to be at risk, according to the email. Luke Vandezande, a spokesperson for Porsche, said the company estimates around 1,100 of its vehicles were among those on board Felicity Ace at the time of the fire. He said customers affected by the incident were being contacted by their automobile dealers. “Our immediate thoughts are of relief that the 22 crew of the merchant ship Felicity Ace are safe and well,” Vandezande said.
A spokesperson for Lamborghini’s U.S. branch declined to comment on the number of cars the company had on board or which models were affected, but said that they are in contact with the shipping company to get more information about the incident.
Felicity Ace is roughly the size of three football fields and was en route to a port in Davisville, R.I., when a distress signal was issued due to fire on one of its cargo decks.
It’s not the first time the manufacturer has lost merchandise at sea. When the Grande America caught fire and sank in 2019, over 2,000 luxury cars, including Audi and Porsche, sank with it.
(Manas Dasgupta)