The Portuguese Navy successfully rescued all 22 crew members aboard the Felicity Ace after the car-carrying ship caught fire Wednesday morning. The ship was reportedly carrying Porsches, Volkswagens and other Volkswagen Auto Group brands cars.
The Felicity Ace was on a voyage from Emden, Germany to Rhode Island when it made a distress call to report a fire in the cargo hold. Shortly after issuing the call, the crew lost command of the ship near Portugal’s Azores Islands.
Porsche released a statement about the incident to its customers on its Track Your Dream app.
“We are aware of an incident aboard the Felicity Ace, a specialized cargo ship carrying certain Porsche vehicles. Your dealership will provide you with additional information on how this impacts you as soon as we have additional information and know the full scope of the issue.”
Volkswagen also issued a statement, saying that some of its vehicles were aboard the cargo ship. The company said it was “working with local authorities and the shipping company to investigate the cause of the incident.”
The company did not say what consequences the incident could have for its customers.
The Felicity Ace can hold up to 4,000 vehicles. It is unknown how many vehicles were aboard the ship, or if it was carrying a mix of cargo. The ship’s operator, Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, said in an email to AP that it couldn’t provide information about the cargo aboard.
The cause of the fire is also yet to be determined.
