A massive cargo ship carrying thousands of luxury cars from Germany to the U.S.–including 1,100 Porsches–caught fire last week, forcing all 22 crew members to abandon ship and leave the flaming vessel adrift in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
The fire broke out last Wednesday morning on the Felicity Ace, a ship about 650 feet long, near Portugal’s Azores Islands, according to the Washington Post, which added that in addition to Porches the cars from The Volkswagen Group included vehicles from Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini.
The ship had departed from Emden, Germany, on Feb. 10 and was scheduled to complete its 13-day trip and arrive in Davisville, R.I., next week, according to VesselFinder, a ship tracking website. The Volkswagen Group estimated that nearly 4,000 cars were aboard the Felicity Ace, according to the Drive, and automotive website.
The Portuguese navy said it rescued all 22 crew members via helicopter. Authorities described the rescue mission as “highly skilled and physically demanding.” The crew members were taken to a hotel on Faial Island in the Azores, according to the Associated Press. None of the crew members were injured in the fire.
Hypebeast reports that Matt Farah from The Smoking Tire revealed on Twitter that his custom $120,000 USD Boxster Spyder was aboard the flaming cargo ship, which was still burning as of Friday, according to the Portugese Navy.
In other Porsche news, this wild Baja Prototype might be the ultimate Porsche 911.
