Felicity Ace cargo ship sinks along with 4,000 VW Group vehicles

The burning cargo ship carrying nearly 4,000 Volkswagen group cars has sunk, nearly two weeks after fire first broke out on the vessel last February 16.

The ill-fated Felicity Ace cargo vessel lists to its starboard side shortly before sinking [Image: Portuguese Navy]

A report by Automotive News said that the Panama-flagged Felicity Ace met its watery end, 220 nautical miles off the coast of the Azores Islands in Portugal at 9:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday, March 1. 

Efforts to tow the ship had been underway when it sank. “When the towing started…water started to come in,” said Joao Mendes Cabecas, captain of the nearest port in the island of Faial. “The ship lost stability and sank,” adding that structural problems from fire damage and rough seas caused the ship to submerge.        

Putting out the blaze aboard the ship proved challenging for responding firefighters [Image: Portuguese Navy]

Waves had been battering the Felicity Ace, causing it to lean 45 degrees towards its starboard side before eventually sinking, according to the ship’s operator. “The weather was pretty rough out there…And then she sank, which was a surprise,” said Pat Adamson, spokesperson for MOL Ship Management. 

He adds that tug boats and salvage craft are in the area to monitor the situation, amid concerns of environmental damage such as oil pollution. 

The ship had been carrying a total of 3,965 vehicles from various brands under the Volkswagen Group, including 1,100 Porsches and 189 Bentleys en route to the United States. It left the German port of Emden on February 10 and was scheduled to arrive at Davisville, Rhode Island in the U.S. on February 23. 

The ship brings 3,965 cars with her to the bottom of the ocean [Image: Portuguese Navy]

Six days after leaving port, a fire reportedly broke out in one of the cargo decks, leading the crew to send out a distress signal. All 22 crew members were rescued, leaving the burning ship adrift off the coast of Portugal. Efforts to fight the blaze met with challenges posed by the lithium-ion batteries used by the vehicles aboard the vessel, as well as concerns that pumping more water could make the ship heavier and more unstable. 

The incident is expected to deal at least $400 million in losses to Volkswagen, as dealers in the U.S. have begun notifying affected customers. According to the German automaker, damage to the vehicles is covered by insurance.    

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