The Portuguese authorities monitor the merchant ship “Felicity Ace”, which transports vehicles, and burns adrift near the Portuguese islands of Azores after the evacuation of its 22 crew members, official sources told Efe today.
According to an email from representatives of the Volkswagen office in the United States, in total they were 3,965 cars that were to arrive in the North American country in the “Felicity Ace”.
The Panamanian-flagged ship is located about 170 kilometers southwest of the island of Faial, in the Portuguese Azores.
“A ship of the Portuguese flag monitors the situation next to the sinister ship. The ship continues to burn, no source of contamination is shown for the moment and it remains stable,” sources from the Portuguese Navy told Efe today.
The same sources confirmed that the ship was transporting vehicles, but they could not specify the number and brands of the vehicles.
They also did not specify if there is a risk of explosion due to the fuel accumulated in their deposits, although sources consulted by local media ruled out this possibility.
The 22 crew members of the ship were rescued unharmed. and transferred to Horta airport by a Portuguese army plane when the fire started in the cargo hold.
The Panamanian-flagged ship was built in 2005, had departed from the German city of Emden bound for Davisille (United States), is dedicated to transporting vehicles and has the capacity to transport a load of 17,000 tons.
Although official sources have not specified the brands of the vehicles that burn on the ship, local media speak of high-end cars.
A Porsche spokesman confirmed that around 1,100 units of that company were on the Panamanian freighter. Meanwhile, Audi also reported that some of its vehicles were on board, but did not specify how many.
The well-known American presenter and youtuber Matt Farah posted on his Twitter account that he received a call from his dealer. “My car is now adrift, possibly on fire, in the middle of the ocean.”
“For everyone asking, the dealership has promised to keep me informed with any updates on how Porsche decides to resolve this. Odds are new construction and hopefully not waiting another 8 months,” he added. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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