New York (CNN Business) An abandoned freighter full of cars is adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, after a rapidly spreading fire on board forces the crew to flee.
The 656-foot (200-meter) Felicity Ace car carrier caught fire in the North Atlantic on Wednesday while carrying cargo, including Porsche and Volkswagen vehicles, from Emden, Germany to Davisville, Rhode Island. At the time the fire broke out, the ship was sailing 90 nautical miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Portugal’s Azores, according to a statement issued Wednesday by the Portuguese Navy.
After the fire broke out in the cargo hold, it spread and forced all 22 crew to abandon ship. According to another statement from the Portuguese Navy, the crew was picked up and taken safely to a local hotel, with the rescue coordinated by the Ponta Delgada Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center. There has been no notable source of contamination from the fire, according to the statement.
The Felicity Ace, a ship full of luxury cars, is shown on February 17, stranded in the middle of the Atlantic.
The ship’s owners have arranged for it to be towed while it continues to burn. Registered in Panama, the Felicity Alice is operated by the Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL). MOL has not responded to request for comment.
Porsche confirmed to CNN Business that several of its cars were among the cargo and that its dealers are contacting customers with cars aboard the burning ship.
“While it is too early to confirm what has happened and the next steps, we are, together with our colleagues at Porsche AG, supporting our customers and dealers to the best of our ability to find solutions,” said Angus Fitton, Vice President of Public Relations at Porsche AG. Porsche Cars North America. “We are in contact with the shipping company and now the details of the cars on board are known.”
Future Porsche owners with cars on board, like journalist and presenter Matt Farah, who said he had a 2022 Porsche Boxster Spyder waiting for delivery, have already started hearing from dealers about the condition of their vehicles.
“The dealer confirmed that my car, along with at least a dozen other waiting vehicles, is on that boat,” Farah said. “They had no further information for me beyond confirming that my car was on the ship, and said that as soon as Porsche Cars North America had a plan of any kind on how to proceed, they would share it with me.”
Volkswagen also has customers waiting for vehicles on the burning cargo ship. “We are aware of an incident involving a third-party cargo ship carrying Volkswagen Group vehicles across the Atlantic. The ship was bound for North America,” Volkswagen spokesman Dirk Ameer said. “At this time, we are not aware of any injuries. We are in contact with the shipping company for more information on the incident.”
The Felicity Ace can carry more than 17,000 metric tons of cargo, according to the Associated Press, with possibly thousands of cars on board. The Portuguese Navy said that as of Thursday, the fire was continuing and an ocean patrol boat remained on site to monitor the abandoned ship.