car transport ship
Felicity Ace: Car freighter full of Lamborghinis and Bentleys sank while being towed
The freighter “Felicity Ace” was on fire for a long time and sank with its cargo while being towed.
© Portuguese Naval Forces / Handout / Picture Alliance
On February 16, 2022, a fire broke out on board the auto transport ship Felicity Ace. The freighter had previously loaded around 4,000 Volkswagen Group vehicles in Emden. The ship sank while being towed in rough seas.
The transport ship “Felicity Ace” occupied the Volkswagen Group for around two weeks. The ship had loaded 4,000 vehicles for the American market in Emden, including electric cars such as the ID.4, but also expensive luxury bodies from Porsche, Bentley, Audi and Lamborghini. The ship was supposed to dock in Davisville, Rhode Island, USA on February 23. But it never got there because on February 16, a fire broke out on board. After the fire had gone out on its own about a week later, the salvage was to begin. That also went wrong, the ship is now lying on the seabed.
The Felicity Ace sank 220 nautical miles off the coast of Portugal’s Azores around 9 a.m. local time today, Tuesday, after being hit by waves and pitching 45 degrees to the starboard side, according to the ship’s operator. “The weather has been pretty rough out there,” Pat Adamson, a spokesman for MOL Ship Management, told Bloomberg. “And then it sank, which was a surprise.” About Marinetraffic can the last position of the ship understand precisely.
$401 million worth of cars
The damage is huge. About $438 million worth of goods were on board the ship, including $401 million worth of cars. The 22-man crew was rescued. When asked, Volkswagen did not comment on the current incident, referring to the responsible shipping company. “We assume that the vehicles will no longer be sold,” it said in a phone call with the star.
Apparently, the vehicles at VW had already been written off by the end of February. A spokesman for the DPA said on February 25, 2022: “We fear that large parts of the almost 4,000 vehicles from several group brands were so damaged in the ship fire that they can no longer be delivered.” It went on to say: “Volkswagen is very relieved by the reports from the shipping company that no one was injured in the fire and no oil pollution was observed.” The damage to the loaded vehicles is insured.
Salvage may not be possible
The next step for the shipping company should now be to salvage the wreck, if that is even possible. According to Google Earth, the sea is about 1.6 kilometers deep at the point where the “Felicity Ace” sank. On board are thousands of liters of oil and numerous lithium batteries that sank with the electric vehicles.
source: Bloomberg