Cargo ship carrying luxury cars adrift in Atlantic Ocean after crew escapes fire

by Cameron Jenkins - 02/18/22 9:37 AM ET

A cargo ship carrying luxury cars is adrift in the Atlantic Ocean after its crew abandoned ship to escape a fire.

The ship was traveling from Emden, Germany, to Davisville, Rhode Island, on Wednesday when it caught fire, according to CNN. It was transporting luxury vehicles including Porsches and Volkswagens.

At the time, the ship was sailing just southwest of Portugal’s Azores, the Portuguese Navy said in a statement to CNN.

Twenty-two crew members were forced to escape the ship after the fire spread. They were later rescued by the Ponta Delgada Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center and taken to a hotel, the news outlet noted.

The owners of the Felicity Ace roll-on/roll-off car-carrying ship, which is about 656 feet long, have arranged to have the ship towed, as it is reportedly still ablaze.

Porsche told CNN that several of its vehicles were being transported on the ship and it has dealers contacting customers who were expecting those cars.

“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,” Angus Fitton, vice president of PR at Porsche Cars North America, reportedly said. “We are in contact with the shipping company and the details of the cars on board are now known.”

Volkswagen also confirmed to the news outlet that some of its customers were anticipating receiving vehicles that are currently on the burning ship.

“We are aware of an incident involving a third-party cargo ship transporting Volkswagen Group vehicles across the Atlantic. The vessel was on its way to North America,” said Volkswagen spokesperson Dirk Ameer told CNN. “At this time, we are not aware of any injuries. We are in contact with the shipping company to get more information about the incident.”

Tags Porsche Volkswagen