Cargo ship on fire with Porsche, Lamborghini, Audi cars aboard left adrift in the Atlantic Ocean

A massive cargo ship with thousands of luxury cars has been left unmanned after it caught fire close to the Portuguese autonomous territory of Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday, Bloomberg reported.

In a statement, the Portuguese Navy said that 22 crew members on board the cargo ship Felicity Ace were rescued on Thursday. The fire continues to be active on board and the ship, located about 170 kilometres from Faial Island, is stable.

An email from automobile company Volkswagen noted that 3,965 cars have been left on board, according to Bloomberg. These included four-wheelers manufactured under the Volkswagen Group’s luxury brands Porsche, Audi and Lamborghini. Around 1,100 Porsche cars were on board, said Volkswagen spokesperson Luke Vandezande.

A spokesperson of the American branch of Lamborghini did not comment but said they were seeking more details regarding the fire from the shipping company.

At least 189 cars manufactured by Bentley were also on the ship, a spokesperson told BBC. The ship had left Germany and was headed for a Volkswagen factory in Davisville in the United States, said the BBC report.

The giant vessel may be towed to the Bahamas or another European country, Reuters reported quoting the captain of the port of Hortas in Portugal, closest to the cargo ship.

According to Captain Joao Mendes Cabecas, the lithium-ion batteries in the electric cars are on fire and specialist equipment will be required to extinguish the blaze. The report said it was not clear what had sparked the fire.

“The ship is burning from one end to the other... everything is on fire about five meters above the water line,” Cabecas was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Dutch engineering company Boskalis said it has sent a team to help control fire on the vessel. Towing ships from Gibraltar and the Netherlands were due to arrive on the way as well, said the Reuters report.