Cargo Ship With Porsches, VWs Catches Fire in Atlantic on Way to RI, Crew Rescued by Portuguese Navy

Cargo Ship With Porsches, VWs Catches Fire in Atlantic on Way to RI, Crew Rescued by Portuguese Navy

A cargo ship containing Porsches — and Volkswagens — caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean — on the way to the port of Davisville in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. 

Davisville is part of the Quonset Development Corporation. 

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Portugal’s navy said it had rescued 22 crew members from a large cargo ship that caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean.

The "Felicity Ace" had sounded the alarm after a fire broke out in the hold, the Portuguese Navy said in a statement on Wednesday, according to Euronews. 

Euronews continues:

The 200-metre-long ship was sailing from Emden in Germany to the port of Davisville in the United States. The Panama-flagged vessel had been carrying vehicles when it caught fire.

Portugal’s navy said one of its patrol boats and four merchant vessels were helping with the rescue, near the Azores island of Faial.

The Portuguese Air Force were also mobilized.

“In the past, insurers and class societies have voiced concern over the risk of fires on ro-ro vessels,” wrote Maritime Executive following the incident. “Across all ro/pax and ro/ro classes, reefer truck fires and cargo shifts are among the leading culprits, according to a 2016 study by DNV. Car electrical system fires have also sparked large conflagrations in the past. The cause of the Felicity Ace fire is not currently known.”

Ro-ro is short for “roll on, roll off” in shipping parlance. 

Motor1.com reported that the vehicles on the ship were Porsches and Volkswagens.