Cargo Ship Reportedly Sunk

[Mike Smith]

'Felicity Ace' Cargo Ship Reportedly Sunk: Was Carrying Porsches, Lamborghinis (msn.com)

The management company towing the Felicity Ace to shore reported this morning that it had suffered a "list to starboard" and has sunk in waters off the Azores. Road & Track reported today that the final update from the ship's owner, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), was on February 25, saying the boat was stable and had been boarded by salvage crews.

The ship was in the midst of a salvage effort and was to have been towed to land. Some 4000 new vehicles were on board the ship when it caught fire last week.
Here is the full statement this morning:

"MOL Ship Management (Singapore) updates the situation regarding the ‘Felicity Ace’ car carrier. Initial reports from the local salvage team state that the vessel had sunk at around 9 a.m. local time, having suffered a list to starboard. The last vessel position was around 220nm off the Azores. The salvage crafts will remain around the area to monitor the situation. Further information will be provided as it becomes available."

As we described in earlier stories, the ship had been carrying Lamborghini Urus, Aventador, and Huracán vehicles, including the last Aventadors to be produced; VW Golf R, GTI, Arteon, and ID.4; and unspecified Porsche and Bentley models. In all, more than 4000 vehicles were on the ship, destined for U.S. dealerships and buyers. Even before the ship's sinking, the fire on board was extensive enough that none of the vehicles were expected to be in salable condition. The ship initially caught fire on February 16.

[Ashley James]

Apparently it was as a Porsche Taycan and the second to go up in smoke. The last one was in America.

It would be interesting to know the cause because the batteries themselves are very safe indeed and I believe have an internal fuse to protect against shorting, which will explode them.

[bjmullan]

Even if the ship would have made it to shore all of the cars would have been crushed by the manufacturers. They have done that before:

https://www.musclecarszone.com/hundreds ... rter-ship/

[deano]

Its not true to say the batteries are safe, most Lithium-containing chemistries (there are hundreds) in use today are extremely volatile, and there are multiple manufacturing defects that can cause them to overheat and burn. There are thousands of individual batteries inside each EV's battery system, and quality checking every closed cell is extremely time-consuming and expensive so not done at present, so the probability of one bad cell ending up on a cargo ship is non-negligible. I expect that containers might have to be retrofitted with suitable fire suppression now, or vehicles might be shipped without their battery systems fitted.... interesting, and sad for those guys who were expecting their cars soon

[misteralz]

On the plus side though, is the total loss of a number of Uruses.

[Gary71]

Replacing the customer cars can be problematic when you have a long waiting list. Which is a nice problem to have.

Do you build a replacement for the cars lost first and push everyone back or upset the customers that have already been waiting 9 months and put them at the back of the queue…

And logistics timelines being what they are that’s not easy anyway as you can’t just swap things in very long supply chain.

[KS]

Replacing the customer cars can be problematic when you have a long waiting list. Which is a nice problem to have.

Do you build a replacement for the cars lost first and push everyone back or upset the customers that have already been waiting 9 months and put them at the back of the queue…

And logistics timelines being what they are that’s not easy anyway as you can’t just swap things in very long supply chain.

Several years ago, when a car carrier struck another vessel in the North Sea and sank, among the cargo was a shipment of Volvos and BMWs destined for the USA. One of these was a friend's BMW M3, for which he had been waiting for over six months. It took a further six months before he received his M3, so I presume other orders were fulfilled in the meantime...

[hot66]

From listening to Matt on the Smoking Tire podcast , his new Spyder was on the boat & he says Porsche have told all their US dealers they are going to build their cars again .. and have asked if any of them want to adjust their spec they can whilst they have the chance . Sounds like they will be given priority as most of those had been given delivery dates and were expecting a car Feb / March ... unlike those further down the list who hadnt yet had build date confirmations.

[Gary71]

Lambo have some issues as they’ve stopped making Aventadors and they are now at the bottom of the sea…

[gridgway]

We're a bit buggered as we can't get a load of electric cars over the ocean without a fire you can't put out. Life with electric cars is set to get much harder.

[Gary71]

As far as I’m aware there isn’t a clear cause for the fire other than internet speculation

[gridgway]

Very true!

[sisu]

Buying a damaged electric vehicle overseas is an challenging. Some want you to ship the car without the battery in the car and it go in a seperate container. It is why recycling your EV battery is not as easy as a normal car. An example is the Nissan Leaf, 10 years of building them and until last year it was only recycled in Japan. You can now recycle the UK ones, but only in Britain. There is no part number or price for the battery outside of the dealer network.

Certain Ferries and underground car parks limit the number or location of EVs now because putting an EV fire out is just this, bring a big bucket, fill it with water and then drop it in.

[Ashley James]

There’s not a single battery, but hundreds of 4.5 volt cells and not all fail, so the more technically advanced manufactures software monitors each battery individually to ensure they’re charged and discharged equally. This prolongs life and reduces fire risk.

In the States there are independent companies recycling these batteries for a fraction of the cost of manufacturers prices.

Someone else might know how, but until September last year Tesla help patents on the these lithium batteries and that’s what’s delayed the arrival of Chinese cars in the States.

[Nine One One]

Full manifest now published.

https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/lost ... bace5cdd91



Audi was the hardest hit manufacturer, with 846 cars now rusting away under the ocean. Porsche lost 580 cars, Volkswagen saw 523 cars sunk, 190 Bentleys went down and 85 Lamborghinis – including the final 15 Aventadors, 20 Hurácans and 50 Urus SUVs – were seabed-bound. Among the more unexpected cargo was a 2015 Ford Mustang finding its way home, a 2007 BMW 750i, a 1977 Land Rover Santana, and a rare 1996 Honda Prelude SiR.