It’s a piece of news that will break the hearts of auto enthusiasts. On February 16th, 2022, a cargo ship, Felicity Ace, carrying a fleet of Porsches, Bentleys, Lamborghinis, and other luxury cars had caught fire, when it was going from Germany to the USA. Now nearly two weeks later, the Felicity Ace has sunk in the Atlantic Ocean. The Felicity Ace was on fire and adrift for many days before firefighting vessels arrived to douse the flame. But while towing the vessel to a safe area, it toppled over and sank before reaching its destination.

According to a representative, around 189 Bentleys, 1,100 Porsches and an unspecified number of Audis — about 4,000 cars in total from the Volkswagen Group, including both electric and non-electric vehicles — were on board the Felicity Ace. With some of the cars costing upwards of $100,000 each, the exact damage is unknown, but it’s estimated that the Volkswagen Group has suffered a loss of at least $400 million.

According to the ship’s operator, MOL Ship Management Singapore, Felicity Ace sunk at 9am local time, around 220 nautical miles off the coast of Azores — an autonomous region of Portugal. 

Authorities are yet to determine the reason behind the fire. However, captain Joao Mendes Cabecas has blamed the lithium-ion batteries in the EVs as the main culprit. 

“Lithium-ion batteries in the electric vehicles on board are keeping the fire alive,” said Cabeças, while efforts to contain the fire were underway. 

In good news, all 22 crew members including the captain were rescued by the Portuguese Navy and did not need any medical attention. Last Friday, a salvage team reported that “the smoke leaving the vessel has currently stopped and is not visible.”