Marinha Portuguesa can't save a Porsche

Addendum from 26/02/2022

The fire on board the "Felicity Ace" has been considered extinguished since midday on 25 February. With 4,000 cars, mainly from the VW Group, as cargo with a value of around 400 million euros (i.e. almost half a billion euros!), insurers are now calling for decisive investment in the mandatory installation of automatic extinguishing systems based on high-pressure water mist on board ships of this size - less damage to the cargo, no impairment of the stability of the transport platform! Salvage experts have boarded the ship for the first time in order to be able to tow the drifting, 200 metre-long vessel to a safe harbour for inspection.

Although a car ferry on fire off Corfu made headlines in mid-February, a car transporter in flames off the Azores at the same time barely made it into the media. Around 90 nautical miles southwest of the central islands, the Panama-registered "Felicity Ace" with a capacity of 6,400 CEU (car equivalent unit) and 22 crew members on board caught fire on 16 February.

Fire on the "Felicity Ace" off the Azores; Photo: Marinha Portuguesa

Rescue from Ponta Delgada

The Portuguese Navy with its local MRCC (Maritime Rescue Control Centre) and the "Setúbal", its latest "Viana-do-Castelo" class OPV from Ponta Delgada, were able to rescue the crew unharmed in cooperation with four civilian vessels that happened to be in the area. The 22 people were flown by EH-101 Merlin helicopter from the Portuguese Air Force to the hospital in Horta on Faial. The MRCC ended its press release by stating that no environmental pollution could be detected.

Burnt-out "Felicity Ace" off the Azores; Photo: Marinha Portuguesa

Luxurious freight

How could it be - the carrier, which had left Emden a week earlier, had also loaded 1,100 Porsches, 189 Bentleys and numerous electric vehicles with lithium-ion batteries among the 4,000 cars of the VW Group as freight to Davisville/Rhode Island in the USA. A clean cargo, but one that made attempts to extinguish it on the high seas seem less than promising. VW and Porsche thanked the units involved for the rescue operation. A decision is still to be made on whether the burnt-out ship will be moved to Ponta Delgada.