A cargo ship carrying vehicles from Germany to the U.S caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday and remains adrift near the Azores Islands.
The Felicity Ace is similar to the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines’ Beluga Ace.
(Mitsui)
The Portuguese navy rescued all the 22 crew members from the ship, named the Felicity Ace, which was scheduled to arrive in the Port of Davisville, Rhode Island, on Feb. 23.
No one was injured, but the Felicity Ace was carrying an unknown number of make Group vehicles, including make, in its hold, which has a capacity of 4,000 vehicles.
Porsche sold over 70,000 cars in the U.S. in 2021.
(Alex Kraus/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Our immediate thoughts are of relief that the 22 crew of the merchant ship ‘Felicity Ace’ are safe and well,” Porsche said in a statement to Fox News Autos.
“A number of our cars are among the cargo. 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.”
The ship is currently about 100 miles from Portugal’s Faial Island, where the crew was taken after evacuation.
(Google Maps)
A statement for Volkswagen Group, which owns Porsche, VW, Audi, Lamborghini and Bentley, said, “We are working with local authorities and the shipping company to investigate the cause of the incident.”
Many of the Porsches in the shipment were special orders that customers have been waiting months to receive, according to several accounts posted to social media.
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The cause of the fire is currently unknown.
A navy spokesman said the ship’s owner, Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, was trying to find an ocean-going tug to tow the ship to shore.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
