A fire broke out on Wednesday morning in the hold of the ship Felicity Ace, which left Emden (Germany) on February 10 to reach Davisville (Rhode Island).
According to the newspaper The New York Times, who himself inquired with a site specializing in navigation, the cargo ship was about 300 kilometers from the island of Terceira in the Azores (island territory of Portugal) when Portuguese forces intervened to evacuate the crew.
No rescuers or crew members were injured during this operation. “highly skilled and physically demanding”during which a helicopter transported the survivors to the neighboring Portuguese island of Faial.
In a press release, a spokeswoman for Porsche Cars North America said 1,100 company cars were on board, but the fate of the vehicles was unknown. She encouraged customers worried about their car to contact their dealer…
The Drive, an automotive website, said the Volkswagen Group estimated nearly 4,000 vehicles in total were on board, including 189 Bentleys.
Impossible for the time being to know what proportion of the inventory of the 60,000-ton cargo ship has been lost, nor what the authorities intend to do with the damaged ship. The shipping company also could not be reached immediately.
Unique model cars
The fire comes amid tight supply chains due to the pandemic.
Matt Farah, car enthusiast and editor of The Smoking Tirehad been waiting since August for his metallic 2022 Boxster Spyder, priced at around $123,000 and which he had had customized:“The best sports car of all time, hands down”.
The man has unfortunately received disappointing news: “I just got a call from my dealer. My car is now adrift, possibly on fire, in the middle of the ocean.” Mr Farah said a Porsche representative had confirmed his car was on the boat, and apologized for the inconvenience.
“That was yesterday, and I haven’t heard from you since.”he commented on Thursday. “I am happy that no one was injured in the fire and that everyone is safe, which is the most important thing. I am sure that, whatever happens, Porsche will do what it needs for its customers.”