Vessel Carrying More Than A Thousand Porsches 'Still Burning' In The Middle Of The Ocean
Topics: World News, Travel
Poppy Bilderbeck
Featured Image Credit: @RetroTechNoir/Twitter/Portuguese Navy
Topics: World News, Travel
A cargo ship carrying thousands of Volkswagen vehicles and Porsches is reportedly still on fire in the middle of the Atlantic ocean.
The Felicity Ace first set alight on Tuesday, February 16 at around 11.30am CET while on its way to Davisville, Rhode Island from Emden, Germany.
The 22-strong crew sent out a distress signal and were rescued by the Portuguese navy. However, nearly 4,000 Volkswagen vehicles, Porsches, Bentleys and Audis were left behind on the 200-metre-long ship which is reported as still being alight adrift the ocean.
Latest look at the Felicity Ace. Not looking good for the cars inside pic.twitter.com/qUBCcHLCsn
— Mike Schuler (@MikeSchuler) February 18, 2022
While it's still not clear what first sparked the blaze, it was deduced that the lithium-ion batteries in some of the electric cars onboard were 'keeping the fire alive', Reuters reports.
Captain Joao Mendes Cabecas of the port of Hortas earlier explained the fire requires special equipment to put out. 'The ship is burning from one end to the other... everything is on fire about five metres above the water line', he stated.
UPDATE: Li-ion batteries in the EVs on board the vehicle carrier Felicity Ace have caught fire & the blaze requires specialist equipment to extinguish. It wasn't clear whether the batteries first sparked the fire.
— Sawyer Merritt 📈🚀 (@SawyerMerritt) February 18, 2022
Around 1,100 Porsches & 189 Bentleys were on board, no Teslas. https://t.co/VAj6Bak88c pic.twitter.com/gmzRrW1588
The ship was built in 2005 and can carry 17,738 tonnes of weight. It's operated by MOL Ship Management and owned by Snowcape Car Carriers (which is owned by MOL).
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According to MOL, the ship is currently drifting away from the islands and is still on fire, SWZ Maritime reports.
However, the movement of the ship is being monitored by the Ponta Delgada Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), that also reportedly has a warship standing by.
As per MOL, a local patrol boat manned by the Smit Salvage team - a group of sixteen experts in 'first response' actions needed to safeguard crew, ship, [and] cargo' - is also close by to the vessel, having arrived the day after it set alight.
Latest reports indicate the Felicity Ace -- a car carrying ship headed to Quonset's Port of Davisville in RI when it caught fire last week-- is STILL burning in the Atlantic Ocean.
— Kayla Fish (@KaylaFishTV) February 21, 2022
This morning on @wpri12 - more on efforts to douse the flames & how it impacts the auto industry pic.twitter.com/L0mhoKiPY5
It's hoped that by the end of the week the Felicity Ace will be able to be attached to a tug boat, according to Smit Salvage's parent company, Boskalis, as per Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.
Two tug boats with suitable equipment to extinguish the fire onboard are reportedly on their way to help the vessel.
Yesterday, February 20, the Alp Maritime Services' Alp Guard, which was used during the blockage of the Suez Canal by the Ever Given, also arrived at the scene.
The second tug is set to arrive today, February 21, from Gibraltar. Cabecas stated there are plans to tow the ship to another country in Europe or to the Bahamas.
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