A cargo ship carrying around 4,000 vehicles, including Porsches, Audis, Volkswagens, and Bentleys, caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean this week. The ship will be towed to another European country or the Bahamas, the captain of the nearest port said on Friday.
The Felicity Ace, a 200-meter-long (650-feet-long) cargo ship, caught fire on Wednesday while traveling 90 nautical miles southwest of Portugal’s Azores.
The ship left from Emden, Germany, on Feb. 10 and was scheduled to dock in Davisville, Rhode Island. It is capable of carrying more than 17,000 metric tons of cargo and can fit thousands of vehicles on multiple decks.
A total of 22 crew members were evacuated from the flaming ship on Wednesday. The Portuguese navy said in a statement that all rescued crew members did not require medical attention upon arrival and were transferred to a local hotel in Faial island.
“The rescue operation involves several means, namely the ocean patrol vessel of the Navy NRP Setubal and four merchant ships that sail in the area. Portuguese air force assets were also activated,” the navy said.
No source of pollution has been identified so far, the navy said.
Lithium-ion batteries in the electric cars on board have caught fire and the blaze requires specialist equipment to extinguish, captain Joao Mendes Cabecas of the port of Hortas told Reuters on Friday.
It was not clear whether the batteries first sparked the fire.
“The ship is burning from one end to the other … everything is on fire about five meters above the water line,” Cabeças said.
Towing boats were on route from Gibraltar and the Netherlands, with three due to arrive by next Wednesday, Cabecas said. He added the vessel could not be towed to the Azores because it was so big it would block trade at the port.
Volkswagen Group confirmed in a statement that the ship was transporting some “vehicles that the German automaker produced” to the United States, but did not elaborate on the potential ramifications for customers or the company.
Porsche Cars North America also confirmed to NBC that their vehicles were among the cargo on the Felicity Ace and has communicated with the shipping company on the matter.
“While it remains too early to confirm what occurred and next steps, we are–along with our colleagues at Porsche AG–supporting our customers and our dealers as best we can to find solutions. Anyone concerned by this incident and the implications on the car they’ve ordered should contact their Porsche dealer,” it stated.
In October last year, the Canadian coast guard rescued 16 crew members from a burning container ship off the coast of British Columbia. Five other crew members, including the captain, remained on board at their own behest.
The Coast Guard said a fire broke out in ten damaged containers aboard the MV Zim Kingston, and two of the burning containers contained a hazardous item identified as potassium amylxanthate.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
