Cargo ship carrying 4,000 Porsches and Volkswagens catches fire in middle of Atlantic – World News

The ship, which was headed for the US, sounded the alarm after a hearth broke out within the maintain – resulting in the evacuation of the 22 crew members aboard, a few of whom needed to be rescued by helicopter

A cargo ship carrying as much as 4,000 Porches and Volkswagens caught fireplace in the midst of the Atlantic Ocean.

The alarm was sounded aboard The Felicity Ace after a hearth broke out within the maintain, resulting in the evacuation of its 22-strong crew.

An announcement from the Portuguese Navy confirmed crew members have been rescued in lifeboats because the ship blazed close to the mid-Atlantic Azores Islands.

It added that the reason for the fireplace is at the moment unknown.

On-line vessel trackers say the 650-feet-long vessel had set sail on February 10 from Emden, Germany, and was sure for the port of Davisville within the US state of Rhode Island.

The ship, which frequently ferries automobiles for Volkswagen, Lamborghini, Audi and Porsche throughout the seas, was anticipated to reach within the US on February 23.

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In an announcement, Portugal’s navy mentioned one patrol boat and 4 service provider vessels helped with the rescue, alongside the Portuguese Air Drive plane.

Thus far, 11 crew members have been rescued from a Greek tanker, Resilient Warrior, by a Portuguese Navy helicopter.

Porche patrons are in a position to observe their purchases via eh Observe Your Dream service, which runs reside updates on automobiles’ deliveries.

The web site mentioned it was “conscious of an incident on the Felicity Ace carrying sure Porsche automobiles”.

Matt Farah, whose YouTube channel The Smoking Tire has over 1 million subscribers, mentioned his personal board was apparently onboard The Felicity Ace.

“I ordered a Boxster Spyder in August, and I used to be very excited to get it on the finish of this month, and now it looks as if it would develop into a synthetic reef,’ he mentioned.

“I am solely saying this as a result of I do know nobody was damage, which is clearly extra vital.”

A spokesperson for Porche mentioned: “Our rapid ideas are of the 22 crew of the service provider ship Felicity Ace, all of whom we perceive are secure and properly on account of their rescue by the Portuguese Navy following studies of a hearth on board.

“We consider various our automobiles are among the many cargo onboard the ship. No additional particulars of the precise automobiles affected can be found presently – we’re in shut contact with the transport firm and can share extra data sooner or later.”

A spokesperson for Volkswagen added: “We’re conscious of an incident right now involving a cargo ship transporting Volkswagen Group automobiles throughout the Atlantic. Right now, we aren’t conscious of any accidents.

“We’re working with native authorities and the transport firm to analyze the reason for the incident.”