Two weeks after it caught fire, a huge ship carrying thousands of luxury cars sank about 253 miles from the Azores on Tuesday morning, according to the company that runs the ship.
The ship, Felicity Ace, crashed at about 9 a.m. local time after tilting to starboard, sinking about 4,000 vehicles – including more than 1,000 Porsches and 200 Bentleys – at sea, according to MOL Ship Management.
Environmental groups were deeply concerned that the ship would also sink into the pollution it would cause in the unique ecosystem of the Azores, the Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic, where the seabed is covered with coral reefs, coral forests and mushrooms.
The area is home to sperm whales, blue whales, humpback whales, dolphins and sharks, among other species, according to Oceana, an ecological group.
According to Oceana, a massive ship like the Felicity Ace can hold more than three million liters of heavy fuel as well as oil. Other pollutants in the boat include electrical wires, paint and plastics.
A fire broke out in the cargo hold of the ship six days after it left Emden, Germany, for the port of Davisville in Rhode Island. MOL Ship Management did not say how or why the fire started.
Nearby merchant ships and a helicopter rescued 22 members of the ship’s crew. No one was injured in the evacuation.
But the 650-foot-long Felicity Ace remained blazing and swirling as it drifted off the coast of Western Europe.
There have been several efforts to put out the fire and assess the damage to the ship.
Photos shared by the Portuguese navy show that the ship was engulfed in white smoke. One photo shows a smaller boat spraying water on the Felicity Ace. The middle of the ship looked scorched.
The Portuguese navy said on Friday that a team of experts had arrived by helicopter the day before. MOL Ship Management said a large rescue tug has begun towing Felicity Ace to a “safe area” off the Azores.
“The ship, which looks stable, has no fires outside or inside, although there is a high temperature in the central part, no smoke in its structure,” the Navy said at the time.
But on Tuesday morning, while the ship was being towed, it “lost stability and sank”, according to the Portuguese navy.
A “small patch of oily residue” was visible and scattered by the water jets of the tugs, the Navy said. The area is being monitored by Portuguese and European environmental officials, a statement from the Navy said.
Angus Fitton, a spokesman for Porsche Cars North America Inc., said he was relieved that Felicity Ace crew members were “safe and well” and said the company “supports our customers as much as we can.”
“We are already working to replace every car affected,” he said, “and the first cars will be built soon.” Mr Fitton did not say when that would happen.
One of the Porsches on board belonged to Matt Farah, a car enthusiast and editor of The Smoking Tire.
He has been waiting for the 2022 metal Boxster Spyder with a retail price of about $ 123,000 since August.
Mr. Farah summed up the loss in his podcast: “Car. boat. Fire. Flying. For example, that’s the whole story. “
Marine experts said that even if the ship had been rescued, the cars on board would most likely be scrapped.
“After being on board a ship that is on fire, no one can tell you much about the integrity of the car,” said Richard Burke, professor and chairman of naval architecture and marine engineering at Maritime College at New York State University. So if you can’t do that, why would you agree to a warranty contract for this car?
Mr. Farah agreed in his podcast.
“If it’s not fire, it’s molten lithium,” he said. “If it’s not molten lithium, it’s smoke. And if it’s not smoke, it’s seawater. “
Dr Burke noted that fires on car carriers can be extremely difficult to put out, as ships typically carry thousands of vehicles and each vehicle will have a gallon of petrol, half a gallon of motor oil and four tires that can burn.
“They are really difficult fires; they are terrible, “said Dr. Burke, adding:” Once the fire starts, the crew has little chance of putting out the fire. “
In December 2018, another 650-foot carrier, Sincerity Ace, caught fire in the Pacific Ocean, about 2,000 miles northwest of Oahu, Hawaii, while transporting about 3,500 Nissan vehicles from Japan, according to The Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Mr Farah, who discusses cars for three hours each week on his show, said in an email that given the state of the world, Porsche’s loss was insignificant.
“There is a global pandemic that people just want to pretend doesn’t exist and move on, and we’re about to have World War III,” he wrote before the ship sank. “I feel a lot worse about these things than I do about my stupid car.
Michael Levenson contributed to the reporting.