A ship laden with luxury cars was floating aimlessly in the Atlantic Ocean, southwest of the Azores archipelago, Portuguese territory, at 2:30 a.m. by plane from Lisbon. The ship caught fire and was abandoned by the crew of 22.
The Panama-registered and operated by a Japanese company, the Felicity Ace, about 200 meters in length, carries nearly 4,000 cars of Porsche and other Volkswagen Group brands from Emden, Germany, to Davisville, in US state From Rhode Island.
The fire of unknown cause spread across the ship and reached the cargo area.
The Portuguese Navy received alerts and said, in a statement, that it rescued the entire crew, who were transferred first to an oil tanker that changed course to assist in the operation, and then to a local hotel. The memo also indicates that the fire continues on board the ship and that a patrol is monitoring the abandoned ship until a plan is made to move it to a port.
Porsche confirmed that Porsche cars were on board and said that customers who have already purchased the transported cars will be contacted by the sellers. “We are in contact with the shipping company and details of the vehicles on board are already known,” said Angus Fitton, vice president of North American PR for Porsche.
A spokesman for the company said: “We are aware of the incident involving a third-party cargo ship transporting Volkswagen Group vehicles across the Atlantic. At this time, we have no reports of injuries and are already in contact with the shipping company for more information.” . -Voice Volkswagen Group.
