Felicity Ace, the car-carrying ship that caught fire last month while on passage to the United States, has sunk near the Azores.
MOL Ship Management sent out a press release today stating that the ship, which was positioned 220 nautical miles (253 miles/407 km) off the Azores sank this morning at around 9 AM this morning (5 AM EST) after it suffered a starboard list. Salvage crafts will remain around the area to monitor the situation.
The ship caught fire on February 16 while it was around 90 nautical miles (103 miles/167 km) southwest of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean. Fortunately, the appropriate authorities were immediately alerted and all 22 crew were safely evacuated.
The ship was on passage from Emden, Germany, to Davisville, Rhode Island where its cargo of Volkswagen Group vehicles was meant to be dropped off. The cause of the fire remains unknown, but firefighting efforts were reportedly complicated by the presence of electrified vehicles, whose batteries are notoriously difficult to extinguish once they catch fire.
By February 25, however, the boat was reportedly stable and had been boarded by crews. The company said it was using salvage vessels to tow the ship to a safer area. Although the total number of vehicles aboard is not publicly known but Porsche confirmed that it had 1,100 vehicles on the ship.
Lamborghini, meanwhile, confirmed that it had a number of Uruses and some Aventadors on the Felicity Ace. The latter is going out of production soon and was completely sold out, meaning that the automaker may have to return to its suppliers and build extra models in order to fulfill all of its deliveries.
MOL Ship Management said it is monitoring the situation and will provide further updates once they become available.
Latest look at the Felicity Ace. Not looking good for the cars inside pic.twitter.com/qUBCcHLCsn
— Mike Schuler (@MikeSchuler) February 18, 2022