An abandoned cargo ship filled with luxury cars is drifting in the Atlantic Ocean after a fire on board forced the crew to evacuate.
The Felicity Ace, a 656-foot vessel, was drifting near Portugal’s Azores Islands after the 22-member crew was taken off the ship, Portuguese navy spokesman Cmdr. José Sousa Luís told The Associated Press.
According to FleetMon, which tracks ocean vessels, all of the crew members were safely evacuated from the ship by helicopter and lifeboat.
The vessel caught fire in the North Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday as it carried Porsches and Volkswagens from Emden, Germany, to Davisville, Rhode Island, CNN reported.
The MV Felicity Ace is a ship capable of carrying nearly 4,000 cars, but the exact number of cars it was hauling to North America at the time it caught fire is unknown. Fortunately, the ship's 22 crew members have been rescued.
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According to The Drive, the ship is also carrying 189 Bentleys and an unspecified number of Audis. Volkswagen Group estimated the total number of vehicles on board to be close to 4,000, according to the website.
In a statement to CNN and Car and Driver, Angus Fitton, vice president of public relations at Porsche Cars North America, confirmed that “a number of our cars are among the cargo.”
“Our immediate thoughts are of relief that the 22 crew (members) of the merchant ship Felicity Ace are safe and well,” the spokesperson said. “We are in contact with the shipping company and the details of the cars on board are now known. Customers affected by the incident are being contacted by their dealer. While it remains too early to confirm what occurred and (the) next steps, we are -- along with our colleagues at Porsche AG -- supporting our customers and our dealers as best we can to find solutions.”
“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,” Dirk Ameer, a Volkswagen spokesperson, said in a statement. “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.”
There has been no noticeable source of pollution from the fire, the Portuguese navy said in its statement.
The Felicity Ace can carry more than 17,000 metric tons (18,700 tons) of cargo, according to the AP. Typically, car transport ships can fit thousands of vehicles on multiple decks, the news organization reported.
The Felicity Ace is registered in Panama and is operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), a Japanese shipping line, CNN reported. MOL has not responded to a request for comment.
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