A rescue operation is in progress after the 22-member crew abandoned ship.
Felicity Ace Incident Information Center confirmed that the ship did sink. There has not been any oil pollution at the scene of the sinking.
The destruction of vehicles from Lamborghini, Bentley, Audi, Bentley and VW is estimated to be worth $401 million.
Singapore, February 18, 2022
All crew members were evacuated to safety in Azores hotels following the fire aboard the car carrier “Felicity Ace” in February 16.A warship is available to monitor Felicity Ace’s drift through the Ponta Delgada Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.
Managers have appointed a salvage firm and an initial salvage team is now on their way to the Azores. The vessel is expected to arrive in Azores by February 18 (local time). Additional salvage assets are being prepared to assist the vessel.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines would like to thank the Portuguese Navy and the Azores authorities for their assistance in rescuing the crew members.
According to reports, the Atlantic Ocean caught fire at the cargo ship Felicity Ace carrying vehicles from Emden (Germany) to Davisville (Rhode Island). According to the Associated Press the Felicityace sounded an alert after a fire broke out inside the hold. The crew of 22 escaped the ship and were safely rescued. The fire could have caused the loss of the ship’s cargo, which included a large portion of Porsche vehicles and Volkswagen cars.
Zerin Dube posted a screenshot from Porsche’s customer order tracker. It acknowledges that the Felicity Ace carried “certain Porsche cars” and advises clients not to expect contact from local dealers until the automaker has sufficient information to fully understand the situation. The Smoking Tire‘s Matt Farah stated on Twitter, that his dealer called him today informing him that his car had been placed on the cargo ship.
Porsche issued the following statement for its part:
Our thoughts immediately turn to the 22 crew members of the merchant vessel “Felicity Ace”, who, according to reports from the Portuguese Navy, are now safe and sound.
We believe that a number our cars were among the cargo aboard the ship. We do not have any further information on the cars that were damaged. However, we are in contact with the shipping company.
Anybody concerned about the impact of this incident on a vehicle they ordered should contact the dealer where the order was placed. Our dealers will reach out to all customers affected as soon as more information becomes available.
The Felicity Ace has been abandoned at the Azores Islands and is now drifting eastward. FleetMon, which tracks registered naval vessels, reports that the onboard automatic identification system (which should help rescue and salvage agencies locate the cargo ship) is still functional.