Photo: Portuguese navy
The car carrier Felicity Ace, carrying upwards of 4,000 vehicles, including more than 1,000 Porsches and 200 Bentleys, caught fire in the Atlantic off the Azores on February 16. After almost two weeks ablaze, the fire appeared to be under control. The ship was still quite hot, but smoke no longer billowed from the cargo decks. Then, yesterday morning, while under tow by the salvage tug Bear, the 650-foot-long car carrier capsized and sank.
The Portuguese navy said in a statement, “This morning, during the towing process, which had begun on Feb. 24, the ship ‘Felicity Ace’ lost stability and sank some 25 nautical miles outside of the limits of Portugal’s exclusive economic zone, in an area with a depth of about [9,842 feet].”
As reported by the Washington Post, European environmental groups and government agencies are monitoring the situation, the Portuguese navy said. The ship had been carrying about 2,200 tons of fuel and 2,200 tons of oil — along with other pollutants, such as metallic parts, plastics, electrical wires, and paint.
Estimates of the value of the vehicles lost in the fire and sinking have ranged as high as $500 million.
Navio mercante "Felicity Ace" afunda fora da Zona Económica e Exclusiva Portuguesa
Hoje, durante o reboque, que se tinha iniciado no dia 24 de fevereiro, o navio "Felicity Ace" perdeu estabilidade tendo vindo a afundar-se.
Notícia completa em https://t.co/dxKBKcyN2o pic.twitter.com/yZygL537uk
— Marinha (@MarinhaPT) March 1, 2022
Thanks to David Rye for contributing to this post.
ahh, fancy schmancy lithium ion batteries KO car carrier? ffwd [1.40]
youtube.com/watch?v=HqxZ-IRQyF8
Felicity Ace Car Carrier (facts and updates of what happen of 22 crew on board ) and reason of fire
794 viewsFeb 18, 2022
HAPPY go LUCKY
$500 million in brand new automobiles @ 10,000 feet, no salvage value, who’s paying for that besides yours truly
addendum..nbcnews.com/business/autos/federal-regulators-warn-risks-firefighters-electrical-vehicle-fires-n1271084
… Eight firefighters ultimately spent seven hours putting out the fire.
They also used up 28,000 gallons of water
— an amount the department normally uses in a month. That same volume of water serves an average American home for nearly two years.
By comparison,
a typical fire involving an internal combustion car can often be quickly put out with approximately 300 gallons of water,
well within the capacity of a single fire engine.