The Felicity Ace was about 167 kilometers southwest of the Azores Islands when it issued its first distress signal on the morning of February 16. A fire had broken out on board. According to FleetMon, which tracks ocean-going vessels, the 22 crew members were safely evacuated from the ship by helicopter and lifeboat. But the ship drifted.
Turns out the Felicity Ace was a car carrier. roll on roll off carrying an unspecified number of Volkswagen Group vehicles. Specifically, 4,000 cars, including a good handful of Porsches.
What happened? Every once in a while, a sea freighter’s name gains prominence in the automotive world. Now it is the turn of the Felicity Ace, which was on a mission to take its cargo from Germany to Rhode Island when a fire broke out on board. The flames were severe enough that the captain had to abandon ship, and the fate of the vehicles on board is still unknown.
“We are aware of an incident today involving a cargo ship carrying Volkswagen Group vehicles across the Atlantic,” the company said. Details are coming in, for example we still don’t know the cause of the fire. Fortunately, part of the boat has been towed in the Azores and ships from the Portuguese Navy and other nearby boats helped in the rescue.
BREAKING: A giant cargo ship “Felicity Ace” is on fire in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
It’s carried by Porsche and VW automobiles.
The crew safely abandoned ship in lifeboats. Under maritime law the ship is now “finders keepers.” pic.twitter.com/gHLqHncrOi
— Retro Tech Noir (@RetroTechNoir) February 17, 2022
A fortune inside. Despite the 4,000-vehicle capacity of the 200-meter-long Felicity Ace, we still don’t know if it was full of cars or a mix of cars and other cargo. A statement posted on Porsche’s Track Your Dream app, which allows people who have purchased a new Porsche to follow their vehicle’s journey from the production plant to the local dealership, seems to indicate that it is clear some Porsche buyers will have to wait longer than expected to receive your new cars.
It’s not the first time. There is evidence to suggest that Porsche will make sure its customers get their cars, as this is not the first time it has had to deal with some of its vehicles not surviving a transoceanic voyage. In 2019, the ship Grande America caught fire and sank with a limited four Porsche 911 GT2 RS on board, along with 33 other Porsches and around 2,000 new Audis headed to South America. They had to restart production for all four GT2 RS buyers to keep their commitment.
For the loot? Twitter has been filled with people joking about the idea of going after the cars and getting the “loot”, as if they were treasure hunters. But it is curious that the same Salvage Law (a principle of Maritime Law) establishes that any person who helps to recover the ship or the cargo of another person in danger at sea is entitled to a reward proportional to the value of the salvaged goods. Maritime law is inherently international, and although laws vary from country to country, there are set conditions that must be met to allow a salvage claim.
With its origins in ancient times, the basis of salvage is that a person who helps another at sea is putting himself and his vessel at risk and should be adequately rewarded. A related consideration was preventing piracy, as any vessel in distress might well be abandoned to pirates if the owner did not reward an honest rescuer.
What does the law say? In this case, the legality indicates that it would be a rescue of a ship or its cargo in navigable waters from a danger that, had it not been for the rescuer’s assistance, would have led to the loss or destruction of property. Except in the case of salvage carried out under contract, the salvager, known as salvage, must act voluntarily without having any legal duty to do so, apart from the general duty to render assistance to those in danger at sea.
As long as the owner or his employees remain on the ship, unwanted salvage offers may be refused. A derelict (a vessel found completely deserted or abandoned with no hope or intent of recovery) is, however, a good joy to anyone who comes across it. Typical acts include freeing ships that have run aground or on reefs, recovering sunken ships (or their cargo), fighting fires, etc.