The Felicity Ace. Photo courtesy of the Portuguese Maritime Authority
A ship carrying thousands of expensive cars has been abandoned in the mid-Atlantic after catching fire on Wednesday. Around 1,000 Porches, over 100 Bentleys, and an undisclosed number of Lamborghinis and Audis are currently onboard the drifting Felicity Ace, which was originally meant to transport nearly 4,000 vehicles from the German city of Emden to Rhode Island in the US. The ship is now currently adrift near Portugal's Azores islands.“We are aware of an incident involving a third-party cargo ship transporting Volkswagen Group vehicles across the Atlantic,” an Audi spokesperson told The Drive in a statement. “The vessel was on its way to North America. At this time, we are not aware of any injuries. We are in contact with the shipping company to get more information about the incident.”Soon after the ship caught fire, the Portuguese navy was able to safely evacuate all 22 crew members by helicopter to Faial island on the archipelago, where they are recovering in a hotel. The next phase of the mission is to recover the ship itself while causing the least amount of environmental damage possible, the navy has said. “The owner of the ship Felicity Ace is in contact with the logistic agent in order to draw up a plan for the towing of the ship,” a Portuguese navy spokesperson confirmed in a statement.