Felicity Ace was taking Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche and Volkswagen cars to US when it caught fire
Two Volkswagen charter ships in the port of Emden
Aventador is sold out, so any damaged cars may need to be replaced
The cargo ship that caught fire while carrying thousands of Volkswagen Group cars to the US has sunk around 250 miles off the coast of the Azores.
The Felicity Ace was transporting around 4000 cars from the Emden port in Germany to Davisville, Rhode Island, before a fire started in the hold from an as-yet unknown source. All 22 crew members were safely rescued by the Portuguese Navy.
Salvage work was under way to recover the 650ft-long ship and the fire had been extinguished; but it listed to starboard before sinking, due to structural issues caused by the fire and rough seas, according to its manager.
It’s still unclear which cars exactly were on board, but reports suggest that Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche and Volkswagen had cars on the boat.
Reports suggest that Porsche had 1100 vehicles on the ship, with one American economist estimating the total cost of damages at $335 million (£247m).
“We’re already working to replace every car affected by this incident, and the first new cars will be built soon,” Angus Fitton, vice-president of public relations at Porsche Cars North America, told the Associated Press.
The Portuguese Navy said last week that four merchant ships were assisting with the rescue near the island of Faial in the Azores, along with one of its own patrol boats.
Lamborghini America CEO Andrea Baldi told Automotive News Europe that the Urus SUV accounted for the bulk of Lamborghinis on board, but there were also some Aventador and Hurácan supercars.
There are now fears that the ship could pollute the Atlantic Ocean, as it was carrying 2200 tonnes of fuel and 2200 tonnes of oil, ABC has reported.
A Portuguese Navy vessel and a Portuguese Air Force aeroplane will remain at the scene of the sinking to look out for any resulting pollution.
Keyword: Ship transporting Volkswagen Group vehicles sinks in Atlantic