Felicity Ace Ship Brought Down Thousands of Luxury Cars — Here’s The Aftermath

Four-thousand high-end, luxury vehicles headed to U.S. are now parked on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. The Felicity Ace ship carrying these vehicles caught fire while at sea on the 16th of February, about 250 miles off the coast of Portugal. The ship was transporting thousands of vehicles, mainly from Volkswagen Group brands such as Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, and Porsche. 

Efforts to salvage the Felicity Ace ship

The cause of the fiery catastrophe is unknown. But the Felicity Ace’s 22 crew members were safely rescued from the ship and there were no injuries reported. Unfortunately, the extravagant cars aboard weren’t as lucky. The vessel was 650 feet long and operated by the Japanese shipping line Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL). MOL ship management sent out a salvage team who started towing the vessel on February 24th. The ship eventually lost stability and sank on March 1st during its tow to shore, near the Azores Islands.

This has raised concerns regarding the environmental damage that may come as a result of this accident. The Azores’ ecosystem is home to coral reefs, dolphins, sharks, and tuna. The Portuguese navy reassured that European environmental groups and government agencies are keeping an eye on the situation. In addition to the luxury cars, the Felicity Ace was housing 2,200 tons of oil and 2,200 tons of fuel among other things like plastics, paint, metallic parts, and electrical wires. Authorities are conducting an ongoing investigation to determine the cause of the fire. 

Lost cargo details 

Around 4,000 cars were aboard the Felicity Ace, including roughly 1,100 Porsche, 200 Bentley, and 85 Lamborghini vehicles. Prior to the ship sinking, the fire on board was deemed severe enough that none of the vehicles were thought to be in proper condition. This wreckage cost upwards of half a billion dollars between the cars and the ship itself.

Of the Lamborghini vehicles lost, 15 of them were the out-of-production Aventador Ultimae, costing nearly $500,000 each. Stephan Winkelmann–the CEO of Automobili Lamborghini–announced that every customer with an ordered vehicle on the sunken Felicity Ace ship will eventually receive their new vehicle. Fortunately for those waiting to receive their limited-edition Aventador Ultimae, the Italian luxury car brand was able to re-establish the Aventador Ultimae supply chain to restore the cars lost at sea. 

The CEOs from the other car manufacturers, such as Audi and Bentley, recently came out with statements as well. The replacement of the sunken vehicles will happen as soon as possible. These automotive leaders have worked to assure their valued customers that their new rides will make it to their garage in due time. 

What does this mean for production?

Felicity Ace’s incident at sea has added to the already significant delay in the global supply chain. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the production of new cars is already under strain. The shortage in labor and computer chips for manufacturing, longer durations for freight arrival, and busy ports have all resulted from the pandemic.

In addition, wire harness production has ceased. This is the direct result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This incident couldn’t have occurred at a more pressing time for the supply chain. The luxury car brands affected are hoping to get customers their vehicles within the next year. For now, customers can stay up-to-date with the Felicity Ace ship incident by following your local news source.