Massive cargo ship carrying cars sinks in mid-Atlantic
A large cargo vessel carrying cars from Germany to the United States sank in the mid-Atlantic on Tuesday, March 1, 2022. (Marinha Portuguesa)
LISBON, Portugal - A large cargo vessel carrying cars from Germany to the U.S. sank Tuesday in the mid-Atlantic, 13 days after a fire broke out on board, the ship’s manager and the Portuguese navy said.
The Felicity Ace sank about 250 miles off Portugal’s Azores Islands as it was being towed, MOL Ship Management in Singapore said in a statement. A salvage team had put out the fire.
The 650-foot-long vessel listed to starboard before going under, the ship’s manager said, adding that the salvage team planned to remain in the area to monitor the situation. In an earlier press release, MOL officials said that there was no evidence of oil leakage from the ship.
The Portuguese navy, Marinha Portuguesa, confirmed the sinking, saying it occurred outside Portuguese waters. A Portuguese Air Force helicopter safely evacuated the 22 crew members when the fire first broke out on Feb. 16, setting the ship adrift.
Ocean-going tugboats with firefighting equipment had been hosing down the ship’s hull to cool it.
It wasn’t clear how many cars were onboard the ship, but vessels of the Felicity Ace’s size can carry at least 4,000 vehicles.
The incident came as auto dealers across the U.S. have experienced extremely low inventory due to a semiconductor chip shortage.
European carmakers declined to discuss how many vehicles and what models were on board, but Porsche customers in the United States were being contacted by their dealers, the company said.
"We are relieved that the 22 person crew of the merchant ship ‘Felicity Ace’ are safe and well," Angus Fitton, vice president of PR at Porsche Cars North America, Inc. said in an email. He went on to say,"We are already working to replace every car affected by this incident and the first cars will be built soon."
Fitton also told KTVU that he wasn't aware of how many of the customers being contacted were located in California.
The ship was transporting electric and non-electric vehicles, according to Portuguese authorities. Suspicion on what started the fire on Feb. 16 has fallen on lithium batteries used in electric vehicles, though authorities say they have no firm evidence about the cause.
Authorities feared the ship could pollute the ocean. The ship was carrying 2,000 metric tons (2,200 tons) of fuel and 2,000 metric tons (2,200 tons) of oil. It can carry more than 17,000 metric tons (18,700 tons) of cargo.
The Portuguese navy said in a statement that only a few pieces of wreckage and a small patch of oil was visible where the ship went down. The tugboats were breaking up the patch with hoses, it said.
A Portuguese Air Force plane and a Portuguese navy vessel are to remain at the scene on the lookout for signs of pollution.
KTVU contributed to this story, which was reported in Lisbon, Portugal.