It's a sad day for the automotive industry.
The Felicity Ace, a car carrier making its way to the United States, was abandoned at sea when the crew was evacuated following a fire. Carrying a large consignment of vehicles, we reported that the burning ship had been carrying a number of Porsches on board.
Now crewless, the ship continues to drift through the Atlantic ocean, with any chance of salvaging the vehicles onboard long gone. While the loss of Porsches is painful enough, a Bentley spokesperson has revealed that at least 189 Bentley luxury cars are also on board.
A quick glance at the ship's manifest confirms that, in January, the Felicity Ace had previously carried a number of VW Group vehicles, including a total of ten Bentley Bentayga, Flying Spur, and Continental GTC models, as well as ten Huracan's and 11 examples of Lamborghini's SUV, the Urus. Lamborghini is yet to confirm whether any of its Italian exotics are on the blazing ship. Images below show the burning ship, and stills from a nearby assisting vessel.
While the number of Porsches aboard the ship was previously unknown, a staggering 1,100 of the 2,500 vehicles being transported hailed from Stuttgart. The rest are made up of Audis, Volkswagens and, as mentioned, Bentleys.
A Porsche spokesperson has confirmed to Autoblog that details of the cars are known and customers affected by the maritime disaster are being contacted by their respective dealers. “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.”
The cause of the fire is unknown, but it must have been a serious threat to the lives of crew members, with the Portuguese navy and nearby ships stepping in to rescue the 22 crew members of the cargo ship. While everyone onboard made it to dry land safely, the current state of the vehicles remains unknown. Most likely, they've sustained significant and unrepairable damage.
This isn't the first catastrophic incident of Porsches being lost to the sea. About three years ago, an Italian car carrier known as the Grande America caught alight, destroying hundreds of cars – including four rare Porsche 911 GT2 RS supercars headed to Brazil. Thankfully, Porsche restarted production of the GT2 RS to compensate customers who had lost their treasured rarities.
Once tugboats reach the wreckage and can safely tow the fallen cargo ship to a harbor, salvaging will most likely proceed. Aside from the environmental damage, we can't imagine the cost of destruction to the myriad vehicles on board, especially considering the high-value machinery sitting in the tweendecks.
If all 1,100 Porsches were the cheapest Macan available (which they're not), the monetary loss would be at least $60,390,000 – and that doesn't include the Bentley and VW products. While it's a sad moment for the automotive world (and excited customers across the country), the fact that no one was hurt is a miracle.
Keyword: Over 1,000 Porsches And 200 Bentleys Confirmed On Burning Cargo Ship