A large cargo ship carrying luxury cars from Germany to the US sank in the mid-Atlantic on Tuesday - nearly two weeks after a fire broke out on board, according to Portuguese Navy officials.
Officials confirmed that the ship, the Felicity Ace, lost stability and sank about 250 miles off Portugal's Azores islands as it was being towed to land. The ship sank outside Portugal's economic zone in an area that is about 2 miles deep.
Navio mercante "Felicity Ace" afunda fora da Zona Económica e Exclusiva Portuguesa
— Marinha (@MarinhaPT) March 1, 2022
Hoje, durante o reboque, que se tinha iniciado no dia 24 de fevereiro, o navio "Felicity Ace" perdeu estabilidade tendo vindo a afundar-se.
NotÃcia completa em https://t.co/dxKBKcyN2o pic.twitter.com/yZygL537uk
The Portuguese Navy said in its statement that only a few pieces of debris and a small amount of oil were visible where the ship sank and that they were breaking up patches of oil with tugboat hoses.
Portuguese Navy officials said one of the ships monitoring Felicity Ace was on its way to Ponta Delgada in the Azores to pick up pollution control equipment.
The 650-foot-long ship is capable of carrying 4,000 cars. It is not clear how many vehicles were on board.
The Associated Press reported that European automakers declined to comment about how many cars and what models were on the ship. However, the U.S. Porsche customers were being contacted in person by their dealerships in the U.S.
"We are already working to replace every car affected by this incident and the first new cars will be built soon," Angus Fitton, vice president of public relations at Porsche Cars North America Inc., told the AP.
The Portuguese Navy rescued all 22 crew members from the ship, which was to arrive at Davisville, RI on 16 February. The crew was taken by helicopter to Fayal Island in the Azores, the AP reported. None of the crew members were hurt.
Insurance experts told the Journal that Volkswagen confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that the insurance covered damages to its vehicles, which could be at least $155 million. The Journal reported that the total estimated loss for all cargo, which includes Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghinis and Volkswagens, is closer to $440 million.