Ship packed with luxury cars on fire

A huge cargo ship transporting around 4000 vehicles, including 189 Bentleys worth $41.69 million alone, is alight.

The Felicity Ace cargo carrier is still on fire off the coast of Portugal. Picture: Marinha Portuguesa

An 198.12 metre long cargo ship transporting around 4000 luxury vehicles caught on fire while on route from Germany to the US.

Still alight, the Felicity Ace vessel is floating off the coast of Azores in Portugal, after its 22-member crew was rescued.

The Associated Press confirmed the cargo ship was transporting vehicles from the Volkswagen Group, which owns a number of luxury car brands like Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti and Volkswagen.

Stream 25+ global & local news channels with Flash, a dedicated news streaming service. New to Flash? Try 14 days free >

The Felicity Ace vessel is still in flames, with the vessel floating off the coast of Azores, Portugal. Picture: Marinha Portuguesa.

While the exact vehicle breakdown is unknown, there are at least 1100 Porsches on the vessel. According to The Drive, there are also 189 Bentley vehicles and hundreds of Audis. The total retail value of the Bentleys alone could exceed A$41.69 million.

While rescue operators don’t know how the fire began, Portuguese authorities were called in on Wednesday to assist the crew. The “highly skilled and physically demanding” operation ensured nobody was injured during the extraction and the crew have been taken to the nearby island of Faial.

Although it’s unknown how much of the ship’s cargo was destroyed in the fire, car companies have contacted US customers affected by the incident.

Reports from the New York Times state that dealers have notified customers who will be affected by the delays posed by the fire.

One Porsche customer and car enthusiast, Matt Farah said a representative from Porsche had apologised for the inconvenience,

“I’m glad no one was hurt in the fire and everyone is safe, which is the most important thing,” said Mr Farah. “I’m sure that whatever happens going forward, Porsche will do right by their customers.”

It’s believed the total retail value of the Bentleys added up to A$41.69 million alone. Picture: Supplied

Car supply crisis inflamed by Covid

The automotive industry in Australia has been rocked by Covid supply issues, as the pandemic increased demand for vehicles. The uptick in demand has coincided with shipping delays, restrictions at international ports and borders, and supply chain disruptions.

A global shortage of semiconductors – also known as microchips – has also impacted the industry. Due to modern features like touchscreen computers, safety sensors, parking cameras, display screens and cruise control, an average vehicle contains around 1000 chips, with electric cars requiring double that amount.

As a result, the second-hand vehicle industry has boomed. Previously speaking to news.com.au, Bill Tsouvalas, founder and managing director of asset finance broker firm Savvy predicted that prices would remain high for another 12 months.

“The current used car prices can’t stay where they are forever … but dealers won’t get back to stocking the same levels they were prior to Covid for at least another couple of years,” he said.

“At the moment, we have factory orders that are stretching out to six to eight months away.

“There’s no real surplus in stock that dealers currently have in their inventory. For example, we have one dealer partner who used to stock around 350 cars, and now he has 38. It’s crazy.”

Originally published as Ship packed with luxury cars on fire