Luxury cars up in smoke after ship catches fire

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Thousands of Porsche and Volkswagen cars have been abandoned on a cargo ship after it caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean en route to the US.

The ship, named Felicity Ace, was travelling from Emden in Germany before it caught ablaze off the coast of Portugal's Azores islands.

German newspaper Handelsblatt reported the vessel was carrying 3,965 vehicles, which also included Audis, Lamborghinis and a small number of Bentleys.

The ship's crew have been rescued.

Luxury cars up in smoke after ship catches fire - BBC News

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Originally Posted by David48atTD

Thousands of Porsche and Volkswagen cars have been abandoned on a cargo ship after it caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean en route to the US.

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Well that's one way to increase output for the struggling German car industry, they should probably rescue the chips

https://gcaptain.com/wp-content/uplo...o-acores-7.jpg

https://gcaptain.com/wp-content/uplo...-1536x1152.jpg

Lithium-ion batteries in the electric cars on board the vehicle carrier Felicity Ace have caught fire and the blaze requires specialist equipment to extinguish, captain Joao Mendes Cabecas of the port of Hortas said.

It was not clear whether the batteries first sparked the fire.

“The ship is burning from one end to the other… everything is on fire about five meters above the water line,” Cabecas said.

I imagine Lloyds will have a good look at passing the buck on to the manufacturers for this one

Salvors to board burnt Felicity Ace today
February 23, 2022

The blaze on the 6,400 ceu Felicity Ace off the coast of Portugal’s Azores islands has eased to the point where salvors can now get onboard to hook up a tow line.

The Panama-flagged ship caught fire last Wednesday while on its way from Emden, Germany to Rhode Island, US. The ship is expected to be towed to the Bahamas.

UK risk consultancy Russell Group said the ship has 3,965 cars onboard including brands such as Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini.

The total dollar value of goods on the ship is estimated to be $438m, according to Russell.

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Originally Posted by malmomike77

Well that's one way to increase output for the struggling German car industry

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Why do you constantly have to show that you have no clue what the fuck you are talking about? Porsche and several other German brands have had some of the biggest profits in years. The German car industry is thriving, not struggling, you imbecilic buffoon.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/589254/car-production-germany/

You really are stupid. There has been a microchip shortage for almost two years now. Every automaker on the planet has had to cut production.

Porsche Broke Its Own Sales Record In 2021 | CarBuzz

• Automotive industry: revenue by segment Germany 2020 | Statista

Not to mention that the Germans bailed out Rolls-Royce and Bentley and turned them around to where they are earning record profits. Those are German brands now, despite being "assembled" in the UK.

I am aware of the chip shortage, that's why i made the comment but the German output setting aside the chip and covid issue has been falling. Its you with your normal jump down someone's throat reaction that makes yourself look stupid. Now pop back across to the Ukraine thread(s) and spend the rest of the day bleating about the three stooges :)

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Originally Posted by malmomike77

Its you with your normal jump down someone's throat reaction that makes yourself look stupid.

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No it doesn't production numbers mean shit you bozo, only profits. Since you are a dole scrounging loser, you do not understand such simple things.

Felicity Ace Fire is Out But Why Do Car Carriers Have So Much Trouble?
FEB 23, 2022

Dramatic photos of the flaming car carrier Felicity Ace out in the mid-Atlantic have garnered attention worldwide, but it was just the latest such incident in a seemingly semi-regular occurrence with these kinds of vessels.

2002 Tricolore was rammed and sunk in the English Channel, taking 2871 BMWs, Volvos and Saabs with it.
2004 Hyundai 105 collided with a tanker off Singapore. 4191 new Hyundai and Kia cars and 1000 used Japanese cars
2006 Cougar Ace - shifting ballast water off the Aleutian Islands when it tipped over; 4700 Mazdas
2012 Baltic Ace - collided with a container ship and sunk about 25 miles off the coast of Rotterdam; 1400 Mitsubishis; and 11 crew
2015 Hoegh Osaka - rolled on its side while turning to port off the coast of England. The ship was towed to Southampton where it was brought back upright enough that its cargo of 1400 vehicles, including Range Rovers, Jaguars and Minis, could be unloaded
2019 Golden Ray - ballast water, capsized off the coast of Georgia; 4200 Kias and Hyundais
https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod...1645596797.jpg
Kias and Hyundais in a cut-up section of the Golden Ray.

As of Tuesday night, the plan was to tow the Felicity Ace to the Bahamas. As for the cars onboard, they would likely all be scrapped, a Volkswagen Group spokesman said. The cargo was self-insured, meaning VW would absorb the loss. That may seem like a lot to you or me, but VW sold nine million cars last year, so 4000 or so represents 0.04%. VW will survive.

Scary? If you are crew.

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Originally Posted by prawnograph

VW will survive.

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Oh, for sure. VAG is making record profits.

Volkswagen Group raises outlook for 2021 after a record result in the first half of the year

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The Volkswagen Group continued its positive business performance and posted a record result despite challenging conditions in the first half of 2021. This positive development was driven in particular by the premium brands Audi and Porsche and by Volkswagen Financial Services. The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and global shortage of semiconductors were successfully contained. There was high customer demand for the Group’s attractive model range as markets continued to recover. As a result, deliveries increased by 27.9 percent to 5.0 (3.9) million vehicles over the weaker prior-year period, which was impacted by the pandemic. Sales revenue even rose more strongly by 34.9 percent to EUR 129.7 (96.1) billion.

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Volkswagen Group raises outlook for 2021 after a record result in the first half of the year | Volkswagen Newsroom

Cargo Ship Carrying Thousands of Luxury Cars Sinks in the Atlantic

Cargo Ship Carrying Thousands of Luxury Cars Sinks in the Atlantic latest images - YouTube

How did you manage to watch that 'video', David?

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Originally Posted by malmomike77

I imagine Lloyds will have a good look at passing the buck on to the manufacturers for this one

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Nope. As long as everything is declared properly and Car Carriers normally get this part right because it's easy. Same commodity day after day.

Lithium Ion batteries are a major problem. Can't put the fire out. There are now special car blankets that many Shipping companies are using. Stops the toxic fumes and also stops the fire from spreading. They are expensive.

A BMW electric car battery caught on fire in NZ a few months ago. All they could do was to let nature take its course and let it burn to the ground.

A year later, another one

https://www.reuters.com/resizer/EGpY...OPJYTOTXYM.jpg

Ship carrying nearly 3,000 cars ablaze off Dutch coast, crew member dead
July 27, 2023

A fire blazed on a cargo ship off the Dutch coast with nearly 3,000 vehicles on board on Wednesday, killing one member of the crew and injuring several others, the coastguard said.

Several crew members were forced to jump overboard after the fire began on Tuesday night on the 199-metre (655-foot) Panama-registered Fremantle Highway as it was en route from Germany to Egypt.

The coastguard said on its website the cause of the fire was unknown, but a coastguard spokesperson had earlier told Reuters it began near an electric car. Roughly 25 out of 2,857 vehicles on the ship were electric.

Around 350 of the vehicles on board were Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE) cars, the German company said.

^ conflicting reports on the numbers of electric cars on board

Almost 4000 brand-new cars are about to sink off the Dutch coast
July 28, 2023 2.50pm

A cargo ship carrying 3,783 brand-new electric cars is still in flames near the Wadden Islands. Now, it’s looking quite possible that both the ship and the cars will soon become coral for the fish.

The 200-metre-long Panamanian ship, known as Fremantle Highway, has been on fire off the Dutch coast since late Tuesday night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwaLwdHv5SA