The massive ship Felicity Ace, hauling hundreds of expensive automobiles, sunk on the morning of March 1st. It sank approximately 253 miles off the Azores archipelago just two weeks after catching fire. 

According to MOL Ship Management, the Felicity Ace went down about 9 a.m. local time and dumped nearly 4,000 automobiles into the ocean, which included Porsches, Bentleys, Lamborghinis, and a myriad of other vehicles belonging to the Volkswagen group.

Angus Fitton, a spokeswoman for Porsche Cars North America Inc., expressed relief that the Felicity Ace’s crew members were “safe and well” and stated that the business was “helping our customers as best we can.” 

Along with the concerns and safety of the people aboard the ship, many concerns were placed on about the 4,000 cars that were lost, which was stated again by Angus Fitton that “supporting our customers as best we can,” and that they are “already working to replace every car affected by this incident and the first new cars will be built soon.” However, despite the safety concerns and precautions taken, it was seen that “A small patch of oily residue” was visible near the water jets at the rear of the vessel.

Many environmentalists are worried that the sunken ship will pollute the unique environment of the Azores, a Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic where the seabed is filled with coral forests and many other indigenous forms of wildlife. 

According to Oceana, an environmental organization, the area is home to many sperm whales, blue whales, humpback whales, dolphins, and sharks, among other endangered species. A vessel the size of the Felicity Ace can contain more than three million liters of hazardous fuel as well as engine lubricating oil. Electrical cables, paints, and other plastics are among the other contaminants found aboard ship. 

It appeared the oil from the ship and the thousands of cars had leaked to the surface. Many tug boats were called to use their hoses to break up the oil trail any further to keep it from contaminating any other marine life habitats. Portugal has been keeping a Navy vessel and an Air Force aircraft on-site so they can monitor the area for further notices of surface pollution.

Although scarce, a couple of pieces of information were provided as to how this happened. Reports indicate that weather conditions had deteriorated in the region where the ship was located, making the tow more difficult. A representative for the ship’s management, MOL Ship Management Singapore, stated that they were startled by the recovery team’s reports when the ship went under the waves. MOL and Portuguese authorities confirmed the Friday following the incident that the stability remained adequate. However, once the tow began, the vessel began to list and then inevitably sank. 

With the loss of over 4,000 cars for the Volkswagen group, they’ve set their priorities on reordering those lost vehicles. Especially with the semiconductor shortage that is still going on, the car industry is still struggling to keep up with increasing demand. This loss dealt a major blow to the European auto market.