The Felicity Ace Cargo ship finally sank in the middle of the ocean after two weeks of burning. Its cargo carried numerous luxury cars with brands such as Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini and Volkswagen.
The Felicity Ace caught fire 200 miles from Terceira Island in the Azores on Feb. 16. Azores is an island territory located in Portugal.
During the incident, it was the Portuguese authorities who carried out the immediate rescue.
Felicity Ace Cargo Sinking
In a statement released by the MOL Ship Management, it stated that "The vessel has started being towed by the large salvage craft 'Bear' to a safe area off Azores." The Portuguese navy announced that experts had arrived by helicopter the following day.
As reported by the Washington Post, Portuguese Navy stated that "This morning, during the towing process, which had begun on Feb. 24, the ship 'Felicity Ace' lost stability and sank some 25 nautical miles outside of the limits of Portugal's exclusive economic zone, in an area with a depth of about [9,842 feet]."
At the time of the burning incident, the Navy stated that there were no fires on the outside or inside of the ship. The Portuguese Navy also added that the central area was extremely hot and that there was no smoke in its structure.
Pat Adamson, a spokesperson for MOL Ship Management, told The Washington Post that the salvage crew faced difficult weather conditions when they attempted to board the ship on Tuesday.
However, Adamson stated that they cannot rule out the possibility that the sinking was caused by weather.
It was on Feb. 16 that a fire broke out aboard the 650-foot-long vessel operated by the Japanese shipping line Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL).
The vessel had been traveling from Germany to Rhode Island when the fire broke out.
The Felicity Ace cargo ship carried a crew of 22 aboard its voyage. All crew members were rescued successfully and safely without severe injuries. However, reasons on how and why the fire broke out still remains unknown to this date.
What did Felicity Ace Burn?
It was revealed in an internal email sent by Volkswagen's United States operations that the ship was carrying a total of 3,965 Volkswagen AG vehicles.
The group's headquarters are in Wolfsburg, Germany, where it manufactures its Volkswagen brand. Porsche, Audi, and Lamborghini were some of the cars that were on board when the ship caught fire.
According to Fortune, the email stated that over 100 of those vehicles were on their way to the Port of Houston in Texas. The vehicles on their way to Texas include car models such as GTI, Golf R and ID.4.
In addition, Porsche spokesperson Luke Vandezande stated that they boarded 1,100 of their vehicles in the cargo ship.
According to an analysis conducted by the Russell Group, a risk management business located in the United Kingdom, the estimated overall worth of products on board the ship was approximately $438 million. The luxury goods represented a substantial share estimated at $400 million.
As the Felicity Ace sinks, the company now faces a dilemma over the negative environmental impact it may cause. Oil spillage is one threat facing the Portuguese authorities and the company.
