Thousands of Porsche, VW, and Bentley cars caught fire while being transported via ocean freight. Aside from these three brands, Audi vehicles were also included.
SUNNINGDALE, ENGLAND - JULY 21: Bentley courtesy cars lined up at The Senior Open presented by Rolex at Sunningdale Golf Club on July 21, 2021 in Sunningdale, England.
The accident happened while Felicity Ace, a car-carrier company, carried the expensive vehicles from Germany to Rhode Island on Wednesday, Feb. 16.
Since the fire was quite large, the captain of the ship was forced to abandon the vessel. Thankfully, all the crew members were safe.
"The ship is burning from one end to the other... everything is on fire about five meters above the water line," said Captain Joao Mendes Cabecas via Reuters.
Thousands of Porsches, Bentleys, VWs Destroyed
According to Car and Driver's latest report, around 4,000 cars were destroyed. However, the exact number is not yet confirmed.
Sportscars of German automaker Porsche stand on display at a dealership on July 21, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. Another German carmaker, Volkswagen, is seeking to take over Porsche and has offered EUR 8 billion for an initial stake. Leaders of the two companies, including members of the two powerful Piech and Porsche families, who both have substantial stakes in the two companies.
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Officials are still confused about Felicity Ace's ocean freight ship carrying cars or other cargos included during the accident.
Porsche's spokesperson confirmed that 1,100 of their cars caught fire. Meanwhile, Bentley officials said that around 190 vehicles were destroyed during the accident.
As of the moment, Audi and Volkswagen haven't released any statement regarding the total number of vehicles affected by the Felicity Ace fire accident.
What Caused the Massive Fire?
As of the moment, the main cause of the fire is yet to be identified. But, Cabecas said that the lithium-ion batteries of the electric vehicles aboard made the fire hard to be extinguished.
Experts explained that this type of car battery is highly flammable. Since it contains organic liquid electrolytes, the batteries are quite volatile, especially when they are in a very hot area.
However, it is still too early to blame the lithium batteries of the burned cars. This will still need further investigation. The best thing you can do right now is to wait for further announcements of the officials.
In other news, Paris' private car ban is expected to happen in 2024. On the other hand, Ford Mustang Mach-E is now considered the top EV pick of consumers.
For more news updates about the latest Felicity Ace accident and other related stories, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
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Written by: Griffin Davis
