Almost two weeks after the Felicity Ace cargo ship caught fire on its way to the U.S., the vessel has reportedly sunk off the coast of the Portuguese Azores archipelago.
Reuters
Loaded with luxury cars, the Felicity Ace left Emden, Germany for Rhode Island on the 9th of February. While sailing west, a fire emerged in the hold and while the crew were rescued after jumping ship, the Felicity Ace was left floating in the mid-Atlantic.
The vessel was transporting some 4,000 luxury cars from brands like Volkswagen, Bentley, Porsche, Audi, and Lamborghini.
Porsche has said that 1,100 of its cars were on board the ship, while Bentley has confirmed that 189 of its cars were on board.
Analysis by Russell Group pegs the total dollar value of goods on the Felicity Ace at an estimated $438 million, and of this figure some $401 million relates to cars and goods vehicles. The analysis finds that the fire is believed to have driven expected losses of at least $155 million for car brands.
The nearest port to where the ship has sunk is on the island of Faial, and captain of the port, Joao Mendes Cabecas, has told Reuters that so far, no oil leak has been reported.
However, there is concern that fuel tanks could be damaged and leak while the Felicity Ace sits at the bottom of the ocean at a depth of roughly 3,500 meters.
