The Felicity Ace car carrier sunk. 4,000 luxury cars valued at $400 Million lost.

The Felicity Ace car carrier took on water as it was being towed – and sunk with 4,000 cars on board.

MOL Ship Management, based in Singapore, updated “the situation” of the car carrier, Felicity Ace, today. According to MOL, “Initial reports from the local salvage team state that the vessel had sunk at around 9AM 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.

The incident is also being reported by Reuters and Portuguese media.

MOL posted on February 16^th, that “at approximately 1130hrs CET a fire broke out on the Panama-flagged car carrier, “Felicity Ace”, some 90 nautical miles southwest of the Azores in the Atlantic, while the vessel was on passage from Germany to USA. All appropriate authorities were immediately alerted and with the assistance from commercial ships and a navy helicopter in the area, all 22 crew members were safely evacuated from the ship and taken ashore. MOL Ship Management Singapore, the managers of the ‘Felicity Ace’, are continuing to make every effort to contain the damage and resolve the situation as the main priority.”

MOL Ship Management (Singapore) is a part of the Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) group entrusted with the ship management business , which is one of the fundamental elements of the shipping industry. They  manage and provide ship management services to 24 container vessels and 38 pure car carriers owned by MOL group. Their philosophy statement says, “We believe that a sound environment and energy policy shall benefit our customers, stakeholders and company personnel by contributing to the overall well- being and economic health of the communities we serve.”

The Felicity Ace was transporting luxury models from Bentley, Porsche and Lamborghini, made by the Volkswagen Group. It sunk two weeks after catching fire and its destination was Davisville, Rhode Island.

Joao Mendes Cabecas, the captain of the nearest port on the island of Faial, told Reuters the Panama-flagged Felicity Ace had sunk as efforts to tow it began, due to structural problems caused by the fire and rough seas. “When the towing started … water started to come in,” he said. “The ship lost its stability and sank.”

Cabecas said no oil leak had been reported so far but there were fears the fuel tanks could be damaged as the vessel lay at the bottom of the Atlantic at a depth of around 3,500m.

However, reporting from Maritime Executive, “The Navy is reporting that some debris has been seen in the area and a small oil stain. Dispersant was being sprayed from one of the salvage vessels. Other agencies are also monitoring the situation, with the Portuguese Airforce expected to overfly the area. One of the salvage vessels has been sent to Ponta Delgada to load additional equipment to fight pollution. At the same time, the Navy’s vessel NRP Setubal, which had left the area to resupply in Porta Delgada, is also being sent back to the scene. MOL reports that salvage vessels remain in the area to monitor the situation.”

Volkswagen, which said last week the damage to the vehicles was covered by insurance, confirmed the ship had sunk. Insurance experts said the incident could result in losses of $155m.