Things are going from bad to worse for Volkswagen Group as the cargo ship carrying nearly 4,000 of its vehicles, including cars from its Porsche, Lamborghini and Bentley brands, sank in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean as it was being towed back to safety.
MOL Ship Management (Singapore) delivered the unfortunate news regarding Felicity Ace, saying that initial reports from the local salvage team state that the car carrier had sunk at around 9 a.m. local time. According to the management company, Felicity Ace suffered a list to its starboard, causing it to sink in the Atlantic Ocean. The vessel's last known position was around 220 nautical miles off the Azores region in Portugal.
The latest episode brings a sad end to the voyage of Felicity Ace, which was supposed to travel to the United States from Germany to deliver thousands of vehicles from Volkswagen Group. Felicity Ace departed the port in Emden on February 10th and was expected to arrive in Davisville, Rhode Island on February 23rd.
Felicity Ace encountered problems, however, in the middle of its voyage, as it suddenly caught fire on February 16th. According to a statement issued by the Portuguese Navy, the cargo ship was sailing 90 nautical miles southwest of the Azores when the fire started.
Flames spread quickly in the 656 foot-long roll-on/roll-off ship, forcing the 22 crew members of Felicity Ace to abandon the stricken vessel. Fortunately, all of them were safely picked up and rescued by the Ponta Delgada Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center, which took them to a local hotel.
The same cannot be said, though, of the ship's prized cargo as the vehicles were caught in the blazing inferno. Felicity Ace was burning for six days with the lithium batteries in the electric vehicles keeping the fire inside the ship alive.
That development was unfortunate not only for Volkswagen Group but also for the owners that were waiting for the vehicles on board the ship. Volkswagen Group had Porsche, Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini and VW-branded models on the vessel. Around 1,800 vehicles on board the ship were Audis. Porsche came in second in terms of volume with around 1,100 units of the brand inside Felicity Ace at the time of the incident.
Also Read: Huge Damages Await Volkswagen Group as Cargo Ship Felicity Ace Heads to the Bahamas
A total of 189 Bentleys were also on board the ship while Lamborghini had 85 of its luxury vehicles inside the damaged vessel. Among the Lambo vehicles that were caught in the blaze are the brand's Urus, Huracan and Aventador models. The ship had been carrying as well Volkswagen's Golf R, GTI, ID.4, and Arteon models.
Volkswagen Group feared that the fire on board Felicity Ace was extensive enough that none of its vehicles were expected to be in salable condition. They won't know for sure anymore if any of the vehicles was salvageable with the ship's unexpected sinking.
According to MOL Ship Management (Singapore) spokesperson Pat Adamson, the weather was pretty rough with Felicity Ace being battered by strong waves. That caused the ship to lean 45 degrees to its starboard side, leading to its sinking.
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