The stricken ship Felicity Ace reportedly sank overnight after a week of salvage efforts ultimately proved unsuccessful. The ship, which was carrying approximately 4,000 VW Group cars, went to the bottom unexpectedly while a salvage team was attempting to tow it to shore, Bloomberg reports.
“Initial reports from the local salvage team state that the vessel had sunk at around 9AM local time having suffered a list to starboard,” Mitsui O.S.K. Lines transportation company (MOL), which owns the Felicity Ace, said in a statement released early Tuesday.
“The last vessel position was around 220nm off the Azores,” MOL said. “The salvage crafts will remain around the area to monitor the situation. Further information will be provided as it becomes available.”
A week of rough seas and ongoing fires fueled by the lithium-ion batteries of EVs onboard delayed the ship’s salvage and recovery operations for the better part of a week. While the likelihood of salvaging the smoke and potentially fire- and water-damaged vehicles from Felicity Ace’s hold was slim to none, some had held out hope that their special-ordered vehicles might survive the mishap.
The Panama-flagged Felicity Ace was safely evacuated of its 22 crew members by the Portuguese navy after a fire started in its hold more than a week ago while transporting approximately 2,500 cars, including roughly 1,100 Porsches and an undetermined number of Volkswagens. Tow boats were dispatched from Gibraltar and the Netherlands.
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Source: www.autoblog.com