Felicity Ace
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''Felicity Ace'' was a 60,000 tonne
roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...
cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...
(pure car/truck carrier) built by Shin Kurushima Dockyard in 2005. It was owned and operated by
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (; abbreviated MOL) is a Japanese transport company headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the largest shipping companies in the world. Founded as a key part of the Mitsui ''zaibatsu'' (family-owned ...
of Japan, and the ship was
registered Registered may refer to: * Registered mail, letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and in need of a chain of custody * Registered trademark symbol, symbol ® that provides notice that the preceding is a trademark or service ...
in
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
. It caught fire in February 2022 south of the
Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...
, whilst transporting vehicles from Germany to the United States. The ship then capsized and sank in early March with an estimated cargo worth over $400 million.


Design and construction

''Felicity Ace'' was designed for the dedicated carriage of cars and trucks. The length of the vessel was , the beam and the service draught . The vessel's deadweight was 17,738 tonnes, with a
gross tonnage Gross tonnage (GT, G.T. or gt) is a nonlinear measure of a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage. Neither gross tonnage nor gross register tonnage should be confused with measures of mass or weig ...
of 60,118. It was powered by a single main diesel engine rated at , giving a service speed of . The ship was built at Shin Kurushima Dockyard's ÅŒnishi facility in
Imabari, Ehime is a city in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. It is the second largest city in the prefecture. , the city had an estimated population of 152,111 in 75,947 households and a population density of 360 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Th ...
, Japan, at Yard No. 5306 for
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (; abbreviated MOL) is a Japanese transport company headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the largest shipping companies in the world. Founded as a key part of the Mitsui ''zaibatsu'' (family-owned ...
(MOL) of Japan and issued with
IMO number The IMO number of the International Maritime Organization is a generic term with two distinct applications: * the IMO ship identification number is a unique ship identifier; or, * the IMO company and registered owner identification number is u ...
9293911. The ship's keel was laid on 9 December 2004, and it was launched on 2 July 2005. ''Felicity Ace'' was completed on 5 October 2005 and delivered to MOL in the registered ownership of Aurora Car Maritime Transport SA under the
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
nian
flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...
. From 2011 her registered owner was Snowscape Car Carriers SA, remaining under MOL group management.


2022 fire

The ship sailed from
Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...
, Germany, on 10 February 2022, carrying 3,965
Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of passenger and commercial vehicles, motorcycles, engines and turbomachinery. Headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxon ...
cars, including
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...
,
Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...
,
Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. ( , ), usually referred to as Lamborghini or colloquially Lambo, is an Italian manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its su ...
and
Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of Luxury vehicle, luxury cars and Sport utility vehicle, SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Crickle ...
models. The cargo section caught fire on 16 February 2022, while crossing the
North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...
heading for
Davisville, Rhode Island Davisville is a village in the town of North Kingstown and county of Washington County in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It was formerly the home of the Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center, which housed the United States Navy's Sea ...
. At that time, the ship was about from
Terceira Island Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, about a third of the way across the North Atlantic Ocean at a similar latitude to Portugal's capital Lisbon, with the island group forming an insular part of Portugal. It is one of the ...
in the
Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...
. All 22 crew members abandoned ship and survived, being evacuated by the
Portuguese Navy The Portuguese Navy (), also known as the Portuguese War Navy (''Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa'') or as the Portuguese Armada (''Armada Portuguesa''), is the navy of the Portuguese Armed Forces. Chartered in 1317 by King Dinis of Portugal, it is ...
. The Azorean
harbourmaster A harbourmaster (or harbormaster, see spelling differences) is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct opera ...
told
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that
lithium-ion batteries A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, energy ...
in electric cars had ignited and the fire could only be extinguished with special equipment. Contrary to speculations in the media, it is unknown whether an electric car caused the initial fire. ''Felicity Ace'' was being followed by the Portuguese Navy patrol ship NRP ''Setúbal'', approximately southwest of the Azores, waiting for rescuers to try to extinguish the fire and tow the vessel to shore. On 18 February, Smit Salvage were contracted to salvage the ship. Two large
tugs A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, such ...
with firefighting equipment were ordered to support the vessel from
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
. In addition, a salvage craft with firefighting equipment was set to arrive from
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
on 23 or 24 February. A Portuguese Navy spokesman said that ''Felicity Ace'' was unlikely to be towed to a port in the Azores due to its size. The ship drifted and burned in the Atlantic for about a week. After the fire was extinguished, a team from Smit was able to board and stabilize the ship, and a towing connection to a tug was established.


Sinking

On 1 March 2022, ''Felicity Ace'' was reported to have
capsized Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is upside down in the water. The act of recovering a vessel fr ...
and sunk. A Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) spokesperson said that the ship developed a 45-degree starboard list and unexpectedly capsized at approximately 9 am local time about off the Azores in rough seas. MOL was unable to confirm if any
oil pollution An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into ...
had occurred. The Portuguese Navy said oily residue and wreckage was visible at the surface, the water was about deep at the sinking site, and that naval forces would continue to monitor the area.


Vehicles lost

Porsche lost 1,117 cars on the ship, Audi claimed a loss of 1,944 vehicles, Volkswagen lost 561, Bentley lost 189, and Lamborghini lost 85 cars. In addition to numerous family vehicles, including
Volkswagen ID.4 The Volkswagen ID.4 and Volkswagen ID.5 are battery electric compact crossover SUVs produced by Volkswagen. Based on the MEB platform, the ID.4 is the second model of the Volkswagen ID. series. The production version of the ID.4 debuted in Se ...
and
Audi e-tron The Audi e-tron is a series of electric and hybrid cars shown by Audi from 2009 onwards. In 2012 Audi unveiled a plug-in hybrid version, the A3 Sportback e-tron, released to retail customers in Europe in August 2014, and slated for the U.S. ...
electric cars, the ship carried fifteen high performance
Lamborghini Aventador The Lamborghini Aventador () is a mid-engine, two passenger sports car manufactured and marketed by Lamborghini from 2011 until 2022. Named after a prominent Spanish fighting bull that fought in Zaragoza, Aragón, in 1993, the Aventador suc ...
LP 780-4 Ultimae vehicles, with an estimated retail price above each. The Ultimae was the last edition of the Aventador to be produced, and at the time of the accident, Aventador production had ended. The ship also carried some privately-owned cars and trucks of varying makes and models along with numerous tractors. Lamborghini had rebuilt these 15 lost models, and the last one being designed like a Miura P400. Analysts estimated the damage caused by the cargo loss to be between and .


Insurance claims

By 2024 Volkswagen still faced lawsuits in Germany from plaintiffs, including
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (; abbreviated MOL) is a Japanese transport company headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the largest shipping companies in the world. Founded as a key part of the Mitsui ''zaibatsu'' (family-owned ...
, and
Allianz SE Allianz SE ( , ) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. Allianz is the world's largest List of largest insurance ...
, one of the insurers of the vessel, over claims it was the battery in a Porsche electric vehicle that triggered the fire onboard. Claimants allege that VW failed to inform them of the danger and necessary precautions needed when transporting such EVs.


See also

*
List of roll-on/roll-off vessel accidents This is a list of roll-on/roll-off vessels involved in maritime incidents and accidents. References {{Reflist RORO Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, s ...


References


External links

{{Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ro-ro ships Ship fires Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Maritime incidents in 2022 2005 ships Ships built in Japan 2022 fires in Europe February 2022 in Europe March 2022 Ships sunk with no fatalities