Five days after the car carrier Felicity Ave caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal, tugboats have arrived and are spraying down what’s left of its burning cargo.
It appears there is little but slag and ash left onboard, the remains of what were nearly 4,000 vehicles from various Volkswagen Group brands. That included a number of electric vehicles, notably the VW ID.4, bound for U.S. dealers. And one of the questions that authorities eventually hope to answer is whether the blaze was triggered by one of their lithium-ion battery packs.
The 656-foot Felicity Ace set off from Emden, Germany bound for Davisville, Rhode Island last week. As it neared the islands of the Azores crew members discovered the fire and abandoned ship. All 22 were quickly rescued by the Portugese Navy.
Big loss for the VW Group
But the fire has proven unusually difficult to bring under control, a problem linked to the battery pack fires, Captain João Mendes Cabeças told reporters over the weekend. One of the concerns was the fire appeared to be nearing the ship’s fuel tanks.
For now, that danger appears to have subsided and news reports from Europe indicate there is little left onboard to burn. But there remain concerns about pollution from both the ship and its burned cargo.
All told, there were an estimated 3,956 vehicles on board, including Volkswagens, Audis, Porsches, Bentley and Lamborghinis. Television and podcast host Matt Farah tweeted last week the Porsche Boxster Spyder he had been waiting eight months for was one of the vehicles lost due to the blaze.
The total losses could reach half a billion dollars, according to a report by the Anderson Economic Group. That includes an estimated $334.5 million for the lost cargo and another $150 million for the rescue effort.
What comes next
Two tugboats arrived at the now unmanned ship on Tuesday, and they’re spraying it with seawater hoping to put out what is left of the fire.
After assessing the situation, a team will board the Felicity Ace and begin the salvage process, Reuters reported. Salvage boats will then hook up and tow the cargo carrier to a port that can handle what is left.
That determination hasn’t been finalized or made public. Authorities in the Azores have already ruled that out because of the size of the Felicity Ace. It could require the ruined vessel to be hauled all the way to the Bahamas, or a destination in Europe.
The incident has raised new concerns about the safety of lithium-ion batteries. There have been a number of fires involving battery-electric vehicles during the last several years — though Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stressed that such incidents are relatively rare when compared to fires involving gas-powered models. But airlines have placed restrictions on carrying those batteries, both on passenger and cargo flights.
The eventual results of the investigation of the Felicity Ace fire could thus have serious repurcussions for the expanding use of battery power by the auto industry.
Even if another cause is found for the fire, the catastrophe will cause serious headaches for VW and its various brands. The industry is struggling with severe inventory shortages and this just complicates matters for the German automaker — and for customers like Farah who may now have to wait for weeks, even months, for replacement vehicles.
As one who has a Porsche Boxster on order since July, I am glad my car’s production got pushed back so it was not on this ship.