If you’re in North America and have a Porsche on order, there’s a good chance that you’ll have to wait for your dream car longer than what was suggested by the German manufacturer. We have learned that a cargo vessel has caught fire and is adrift in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, which has been confirmed now by the Portuguese Navy. Thankfully, the 22 crew on board have been reported evacuated safely from the cargo ship named the Felicity Ace. However, the bad news is it is said to be carrying vehicles from Porsche and other Volkswagen Auto Group brands, among others, which might find their way to the bottom of the ocean if the ship were to sink.
According to the information we have, the Felicity Ace had departed from the port in Emden, Germany on February 10 and was arrive at Davisville, Rhode Island on the morning of February 23. However, the car carrier transmitted a distress signal on Wednesday morning which was quickly answered by the Portuguese Navy patrol boat as well as four merchant ships in the area. As per reports, 11 members of the crew have so far have been rescued by a commercial tanker named Resilient Warrior, and they were later picked by a Portuguese Navy helicopter. Currently, the Felicity Ace is said to be without a crew. Pictures of the vessel with smoke billowing from it have surfaced on the internet.
Porsche has confirmed that the Panama-flagged cargo ship was carrying its cars; however, the exact number of cars involved in the incident has not been revealed. Porsche in a statement made to The Drive stated: “We believe a number of our cars are among the cargo onboard the ship. No further details of the specific cars affected are available at this time – we are in close contact with the shipping company and will share more information in due course.”
Renowned American automotive journalist took to Twitter to reveal his own Porsche that was onboard the ship. “I ordered a Boxster Spyder in August, and I was very excited to get it at the end of this month, and now it seems like it might become an artificial reef,” said Farah in the Tweet. This comes as a massive blow to Porsche and other manufacturers affected by the incident. The industry is already dealing with a severe shortage of semiconductors and other vital components, struggling to meet market demand. The situation could be much worse if the vessel was carrying limited-production models that might or might not be reproduced by the manufacturer. Nevertheless, we are happy that no lives were lost in the incident, which is of paramount importance.
Update – More information has emerged on the cargo onboard the Felicity Ace. According to some fresh reports, the vessel was carrying around 4000 luxury cars on their way to North America. It’s believed that more than 1100 of them were Porsches. But we’ve also learned that the vessel was carrying 189 Bentleys estimated to be worth $41.69 million.
Update – The company operating Felicity Ace has confirmed the cargo ship has sunk, taking along with it the thousands of luxury cars to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The ship caught fire on 16 February and the hopes of saving its cargo had diminished over the last few days. This is not only bad news for the automotive industry and the customers who were anxiously waiting for their cars but the sunken ship now has become a big environmental threat.
[Via: The Drive]
