Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL)-owned vehicle carrier Felicity Ace has sunk in the Atlantic, days after a fire engulfed the ship, destroying cargo valued at US$400M
MOL Ship Management (Singapore) said the car carrier sank at around 9 am, local time off the Azores archipelago in the mid-Atlantic, after suffering a starboard list.
The local salvage team attempting to tow the heavily damaged ship to a safe anchorage and port sent word to the owners that the vessel had foundered. Felicity Ace’s last-known position was some 220 nautical miles off the Azores.
MOL said salvage tugs would remain in the area where the vessel sank to monitor for pollution.
Felicity Ace’s sinking comes almost two weeks after a fire started in the ship’s cargo area. Boskalis subsidiary Smit Salvage began towing the 60,118-gt vehicle carrier with one high-powered salvage tug, with other oceangoing tugs acting as escorts. The tow began after salvage teams attached a tow line on 25 February. Shipmanager MOL said large salvage tug Bear was towing Felicity Ace to a safe area off the Azores when the vessel sank. Tugs ALP Guard and Dian Kingdom, together with VB Hispanic, a large salvage vessel with additional fire-fighting capabilities, were escorting the smouldering ship and its cargo of damaged luxury cars.
Felicity Ace was carrying just under 4,000 vehicles for Volkswagen Group, including many luxury cars with an estimated cargo value of US$400M, according to risk analyst Russell Group.
Its cargo included Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi and Lamborghini vehicles. Porsche said there were 1,100 of its cars on board, bound for US customers.
23 February 2022
The Portuguese Navy said on 23 February that a team of experts would be transferred to the car carrier Felicity Ace, which is still smouldering in the Atlantic in the vicinity of the Azores to assess the vessel for towing.
Two tugboats are in place to cool the vessel, according to the navy, which reported no visible fires on board. Two more tugs are expected to arrive on 24 February. Naval ocean patrol vessel NRP Setúbal remains on site to monitor the fire, ensure navigational safety and look for marine pollution. Thus far, no source of pollution has been detected at sea. The Portuguese Navy also posted an image of its ocean patrol vessel Viana do Castelo on mission in the Azores shortly after the update on Felicity Ace.
22 February 2022
Boskalis subsidiary Smit Salvage was contracted to tackle two ship casualties thousands of miles apart. Boskalis said Smit teams tackled the fire on board car carrier Felicity Ace, near the Azores and were helping emergency teams to fight the fire that had blazed across Grimaldi’s ropax ferry near the Greek island of Corfu.
Two tugs and a patrol vessel extinguished the fire on 60,118-gt Felicity Ace in the Atlantic. The fire subsided over the weekend and on 22 February there was little combustable material left on board, according to local reports from the Azores. Felicity Ace is owned by Snowscape Car Carriers, a subsidiary of Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL).
MOL is also the operator of the17,738-dwt, Panama-flagged vehicle carrier, which is managed by MOL Ship Management (Singapore) Pte and insured by Britannia P&I Club.
Following the outbreak of the fire, MOL said "all appropriate authorities were immediately alerted and with the assistance from commercial ships and a navy helicopter in the area, all 22 crew members were safely evacuated from the ship and taken ashore."
MOL said it was "continuing to make every effort to contain the damage and resolve the situation as the main priority."
UK risk consultancy Russell Group said the 2005-built ship had 3,965 cars, including brands such as Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini, on board when the fire started and estimated the value of goods on Felicity Ace to be US$438M.
On 18 February, Boskalis confirmed it had "been called upon to provide emergency response assistance for two ships that are currently on fire." A team of 16 experts from Smit Salvage was mobilised on 17 February to the Azores. Large equipment to assist the salvage team was sent from Spain and the Netherlands to assist with the fire fighting.
19 February 2022
Felicity Ace was sailing to the US from Germany with 22 seafarers on board and a shipment of Porsche and VW automobiles. On 16 February, around 90 nautical miles from the Azores, the captain on Felicity Ace made a distress call to report a fire in a cargo hold.
Portugal Navy’s maritime rescue centre co-ordinated the rescue of crew, with Portuguese Navy patrol ship NRP Setúbal and four merchant ships. Tanker Resilient Warrior was first on the scene and successfully rescued all 22 seafarers who were transferred by rescue helicopter to the port of Horta in the Azores.
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