The Felicity Ace sinks off Portugal – The Motoring Annual

Volkswagen’s worst nightmare has come true. The Felicity Ace, which caught fire last week with nearly 4,000 vehicles on board, sank off the coast of Portugal, dashing all hopes of recovering the precious cargo.

Rough seas took possession of the boat

The ship’s operator said Felicity Ace rolled 45 degrees to its right side as it attempted to tow the boat in rough, surf-hit seas. Joao Mendes Cabicas, captain of the nearest port on Faial Island, told Reuters that the Panama-flagged ship Felicity Ice sank when the towing effort began due to structural problems caused by fire and violent waves. The water was already entering the boat at the beginning of the clouds. The bad weather finally got better from the sinking boat.

Over 1100 Porsche cars on board

Volkswagen had models bearing the Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini brands on board the ship, which was on its way to Rhode Island in the US from the German port of Emden when the fire broke out on February 16. The fire reportedly lasted for more than a week after the crew of the Panama-flagged ship was evacuated and left afloat. In all, the ship contained 1,900 Audis, 1,100 Porsches, 500 Volkswagens, 189 Bentleys, and 85 Lamborghinis.

seal lips

Volkswagen declined to comment at this time. The German automaker feared that many of its cars on the ship were not repairable. Brands and dealerships are notifying their customers that US-bound vehicles will likely not be delivered. The automaker said last week that damage to the cars was covered by insurance. On board the ship was about 438 million dollars worth of cargo in US currency, including cars worth 401 million dollars.

At present there is no oil stain on the surface and no environmental damage to its contents.

With information from Auto News

About the author

Benoit Sharett/Owner and Editor in Chief, Benoit Sharett, has been practicing automotive journalism for nearly 30 years. He studied alongside Daniel Herod and on the Carnet de route from 1992 to 2001. He is the founder, co-owner and editor-in-chief of L’Annuel de l’automobile, which he has published since 2001. He has hosted programs RPM and RPM+ on V and Road Legends in Historia. On the radio since 1986, he’s back on the air this year on Cogeco and has participated for the second year in Passion Auto on RDS as well as setting up L’Annuel de l’automobile’s official website at Annualauto.ca.