Fire-damaged ship carrying $401 million worth of luxury vehicles sinks into the Atlantic

[midian182]

What just happened? A cargo ship that caught fire while sailing through the Atlantic with thousands of luxury cars onboard has sunk to the bottom of the ocean, taking an estimated $401 million worth of vehicles to a watery resting place.

The Felicity Ace was transporting almost 4,000 Volkswagen Group vehicles from Germany to a port in Rhode Island when a fire broke out on February 16. The 22-person crew was evacuated, and the fire was eventually put out on February 25.

But what remained of the Felicity Ace never made it to shore. The ship sank around 220 nautical miles off the coast of Portugal’s Azores Islands yesterday while being towed to safety by salvage crews after being hit by rough seas and leaning 45 degrees to its starboard side.

The Felicity Ace in better times

“The weather was pretty rough out there,” Pat Adamson, a spokesperson for the Felicity Ace’s operator, MOL Ship Management, told Bloomberg. “And then she sank, which was a surprise.”

Among the lost cargo were 189 Bentleys, about 1,100 Porsche cars, and an unspecified number of Audis. There were also VW and Lamborghini models on the vessel, 2,200 tons of fuel, 2,200 tons of oil, and materials such as metallic parts, plastics, electrical wires, and paint. The water where it sank is close to 10,000 feet deep.

Tugboats are using water cannons to disperse a small stain of oil residue at the site where the Felicity Ace sank. There's also some wreckage in the area. A navy ship carrying divers and clean-up equipment will return to the location once it’s resupplied.

Customers who lost vehicles in the incident are being contacted by their dealers. Angus Fitton, vice president of PR at Porsche Cars North America, told The Associated Press, “We are already working to replace every car affected by this incident and the first new cars will be built soon.”

Exactly what caused the fire is unknown, but it’s suspected to have been a lithium battery from one of the electric vehicles.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/93613-fire-damaged-ship-carrying-401-million-worth-luxury.html

 

[Underdog]

That last sentence speaks volumes.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

From the Earth we came - to the Earth thou shalt return.

Everyone.

Everything.

 

[StrikerRocket]

"Exactly what caused the fire is unknown, but it’s suspected to have been a lithium battery from one of the electric vehicles."

We are far from seeing the last of those type of incidents with electric cars. When they catch fire, batteries are really dangerous and cannot be stopped from burning. Remember the Australian Tesla battery depot a few months back? Pretty scary if a single car can sink a big ship like this one!

 

[NicktheWVAHick]

Good thing there were no EV’s on board or we’d have to prohibit swimming in the Atlantic this summer.

 

[koblongata]

Well, those cars aren't exactly TECH related really, lol. ICE engines, lmao.

 

[Irata]

Well, those cars aren't exactly TECH related really, lol. ICE engines, lmao.

That and the EV that probably caused the fire.

 

[Dimitriid]

You mean rich people might need to settle for pedestrian Hondas and Toyotas and GMs!? OH THE HUMANITY!

 

[WhoCaresAnymore]

EV's are full of more toxic chemicals than any combustion engine vehicle. It's insane to think they are anything related to being environmentally friendly.

 

[dirtyferret]

You mean rich people might need to settle for pedestrian Hondas and Toyotas and GMs!? OH THE HUMANITY!

Rich people don't settle, they literally pass laws to make sure of that. Insurance will cover the costs and low and behold the cost of importing has gone up and vehicle delivery costs have gone up across the board including our Honda's and toyotas.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Somewhere an insurance executive is crying about losing his annual bonus.

 

[Dimitriid]

Rich people don't settle, they literally pass laws to make sure of that. Insurance will cover the costs and low and behold the cost of importing has gone up and vehicle delivery costs have gone up across the board including our Honda's and toyotas.

Insurance costs covering 100% of their pending cars doesn't changes the fact that they will have to sit on traffic on a mere Hundai or Nissan for several months because insurance doesn't materializes hundreds of new cards into existence instantly

You outta let commo people have small wins: however inconsequential in the grand scheme of things (this is me agreeing with you btw) increasing morale counts for a lot.

 

[Vulcanproject]

That Lamborghini you ordered 18 months ago? It has been delivered- to the bottom of the Atlantic

 

[Neatfeatguy]

My daughter would cry if she read about this news story - she knows more about high powered cars than anyone I've ever talked to. Everything is about cars that only the super rich could afford and car brands/models I've never heard of.

Angus Fitton, vice president of PR at Porsche Cars North America, told The Associated Press, “We are already working to replace every car affected by this incident and the first new cars will be built soon.”

2 months later (probably):

Angus Fitton, vice president of PR at Porsche Cars North America, told The Associated Press, "Due to the chip shortages we won't be able to fulfill the orders this time around and we have refunded all the buyers. Anyone that is refunded, they are welcome to place new orders at an extra 25% up charge to cover the costs of constantly increasing prices for automobiles."

 

[DZillaXx]

EV's are full of more toxic chemicals than any combustion engine vehicle. It's insane to think they are anything related to being environmentally friendly.

Electric Motors can easily do a million miles. And I've been around enough 20-30 year old VFDs to know they can stand the test of time as well, and when they do go replacing them should be pretty straight forward.

Reliability of EV's in general will be a good deal higher than the ICEs of today.

The entire point of EV's is to make electricity the standard form of energy, Scaling down the need for gas and putting that effort into production of electricity. Meaning less fragmentation on how a locations energy resources are allocated.

We still have a lot of work in regards to the power grid to make EV a everyday reality. Advancements in battery technology is key. A EV will act as a backup power solution in the future, allowing for dumping power back onto the grid.

Don't expect Natural Gas to go away any time soon, but expect Petrol to be scaled down on a national level. The next 30 years are going to be a massive shift in how we see vehicles. They won't only be a means of traversing, but as a massive collective of energy storage.

You'd be surprised how much power is wasted simply because power generation can't always be trusted to only supply what is needed. Expect Massive power storage stations to become more of a thing, like what was done in Australia.

 

[scavengerspc]

Well, it was a bunch of Porches, so no big loss.

 

[Sausagemeat]

They sunk it in water 10,000 meters deep! How extremely selfish! They could have littered the coast of the Azores with nice cars to go scuba diving on. I’d love an underwater shot of me in an aquatic Porsche!

 

[scavengerspc]

That last sentence speaks volumes.

So does your lack of knowledge.

GM Side Saddle Gas Tank Fires

%

www.autosafety.org

The jeep fire problem: fires & explosions in jeeps with rear gas tank

When these Jeeps get rear-ended, the plastic gas tanks can rupture and catch fire. The occupants of the Jeep and the other vehicle can burn to death.

butlerfirm.com

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-recalls-defects/park-recalled-hyundai-kia-vehicles-outside-due-to-fire-risk-a1002120529/

I tossed in the last one because it is more relevant. Faulty electronics.

You know, using a very rare incident as proof of concept is supposed to be something we humans stop by the mid to late teens.

 

[Underdog]

Electric Motors can easily do a million miles. And I've been around enough 20-30 year old VFDs to know they can stand the test of time as well, and when they do go replacing them should be pretty straight forward.

Reliability of EV's in general will be a good deal higher than the ICEs of today.

Reliability of EV's in general will be a good deal higher than the ICEs of today.
As long as the electronics evolves into something better than the rubbish they use in conventional cars these days.

 

[ChrisH1]

Insurance costs covering 100% of their pending cars doesn't changes the fact that they will have to sit on traffic on a mere Hundai or Nissan for several months because insurance doesn't materializes hundreds of new cards into existence instantly

Shirley you jest; more likely they will sit in traffic in their 2-year-old Bentley, Porsche, Audi, VW or Lamborghini rather than in the new one. A few might have to extend their current lease.

 

[wiyosaya]

Electric Motors can easily do a million miles. And I've been around enough 20-30 year old VFDs to know they can stand the test of time as well, and when they do go replacing them should be pretty straight forward.

Reliability of EV's in general will be a good deal higher than the ICEs of today.

The entire point of EV's is to make electricity the standard form of energy, Scaling down the need for gas and putting that effort into production of electricity. Meaning less fragmentation on how a locations energy resources are allocated.

We still have a lot of work in regards to the power grid to make EV a everyday reality. Advancements in battery technology is key. A EV will act as a backup power solution in the future, allowing for dumping power back onto the grid.

Don't expect Natural Gas to go away any time soon, but expect Petrol to be scaled down on a national level. The next 30 years are going to be a massive shift in how we see vehicles. They won't only be a means of traversing, but as a massive collective of energy storage.

You'd be surprised how much power is wasted simply because power generation can't always be trusted to only supply what is needed. Expect Massive power storage stations to become more of a thing, like what was done in Australia.

Absolutely. And our nay-sayers also seem to have no concept of progress in the works https://techxplore.com/news/2021-12-sulphur-chemical-technology-battery-lifespans.html

 

[FaTaL]

Never let go jack

 

[PEnnn]

"Exactly what caused the fire is unknown, but it’s suspected to have been a lithium battery from one of the electric vehicles."

That's pathetic!!

Why can't they be like those super safer regular cars that run on petroleum? They never burn or explode (especially in an accident) after all......??

</sarcasm>
/s

 

[Mr Majestyk]

"Exactly what caused the fire is unknown, but it’s suspected to have been a lithium battery from one of the electric vehicles."

That's pathetic!!

Why can't they be like those super safer regular cars that run on petroleum? They never burn or explode (especially in an accident) after all......??

</sarcasm>
/s

The fact you think a petrol fire is anything like a Li battery fire speaks volumes.

 

[Dimitriid]

Shirley you jest; more likely they will sit in traffic in their 2-year-old Bentley, Porsche, Audi, VW or Lamborghini rather than in the new one. A few might have to extend their current lease.

While very true, I still hope there's at least a few NFT bros that were waiting on that Bentley to cash out because chances are by the time they actually can buy one the stuff will only be worth enough for them to get a used Chevrolet at best.