Ship packed full of £300m worth of luxury cars sinks off Portugal’s coast

It was carrying $401million (£300million) worth of Audis, Porsches and Lamborghinis
The ship, Felicity Ace, which was traveling from Emden, Germany, where Volkswagen has a factory, to Davisville, in the U.S. state of Rhode Island, burns more than 100 km from the Azores islands
via REUTERS
Bill McLoughlin2 March 2022

A cargo ship containing thousands of luxury cars has sunk off the Portuguese coast after it caught fire two weeks ago.

The Felicity Ace was being towed back to shore off the coast of the Azores when it began sink.

It was carrying $401million (£300million) worth of Audis, Porsches and Lamborghinis, insurance experts the Russall Group said.

Joao Mendes Cabecas, the captain of the nearest port on the island of Faial, said the ship began to drop as conditions worsened near the Portuguese coast.

He said the vessel began to lean to 45 degrees before taking on vast amounts of water.

Mr Cabecas said: “When the towing started, water started to come in. The ship lost its stability and sank."

Pat Adamson, a spokesperson for MOL Ship Management (Singapore) who owns the ship, said: “The weather was pretty rough out there, and then she sank, which was a surprise.

“There doesn’t appear to be any oil pollution yet - they’re checking on that.”

This undated handout image released on March 1, 2022 by Marinha Portuguesa (Portuguese Navy) shows the merchant ship Felicity Ace during the towing operation after a fire broke out on board on February 16, 2022, off the Portuguese coast.
Portuguese Navy/AFP via Getty Im

There were nearly 4,000 top-end cars made by the Volkswagen Group on the ship at the time, reports said.

No oil leak was reported at the time but concerns have been raised that the fuel tanks may be severely damaged after the vessel dropped to a depth of 3,500 metres.

The vessel caught fire on February 16.

The 22 crew members were saved on the day of the fire.

A 16-person salvage team from the Smit Salvage, owned by Dutch marine engineer Boskali, was dispatched to deal with the blaze.

The Russell Group estimated the loss at around $155 million (£116million).

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