If you ordered a new Porsche, Audi, VW or even a Bentley or Lamborghini lately, you may have to wait a while.
Last week, a 650-foot cargo ship named Felicity Ace carrying 3,965 cars from the Volkswagen Group in Germany to the United States caught fire about 90 nm southwest of the Azores. As the fire spread, the 22 members of the crew abandoned ship. (You can see a video of their rescue below.)
The Felicity Ace was on its way from the Port of Emden on the North Sea, where Volkswagen has a factory, to Davisville, Rhode Island. It was carrying thousands of new Volkswagens and Audis, 1,100 Porsches, 189 Bentleys, and a handful of Lamborghinis, all part of the Volkswagen Group. Some of the Volkswagens were the new VW ID.4 electric models, with lithium batteries. The cargo of cars was said to be worth about $400 million.
The cause of the fire is unknown, but the lithium batteries helped fuel the fire as they exploded. They require special firefighting equipment once they catch fire.
The 22 members of the crew were all rescued, without any injuries, by a helicopter from the Portuguese Navy, which flew them to Horta in the Azores. The fire lasted for about six days as the unmanned ship drifted in the Atlantic with a Portuguese Navy ship keeping watch.
A Dutch salvage ship was scheduled to attach a tow shortly, and possibly tow the Felicity Ace to the Bahamas. The captain of the port in Horta said the Felicity Ace was too large to be taken there; it would block the port.
Read more at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/17/world/europe/felicity-ace-vessel-fire.html and see the video of the rescue here:
