That the last two years had not been the best for the automotive world is now well known. There pandemic before and the microprocessor crisis then it literally brought one of the most important economic and industrial sectors to its knees, with sales struggling to recover and return to past levels. But, as an old saying goes, “when it rains, it pours” and to further complicate the situation for producers, it is also a ship on fire.
Indeed, it may seem strange, but yet another thrust to the automotive sector comes from one cargo ship on fire and adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, not far from the coasts of the Azorre islands. In fact, it is not just any cargo: the ship is 200 meters long and 32 wide and is destined for the transoceanic transport of cars and inside its holds it hosts (or, better said, housed) a real automotive treasure destined for the American continent.
Ship on fire in the Atlantic Ocean, goodbye to luxury cars
Departed from the German port of Emden on February 10th, the cargo was expected to dock in Davisville (United States) on February 23rd, but it is unlikely that it will be able to complete its journey. The fire, which started right from the holds and quickly spread to the other areas of the ship, forced the crew to call for help and abandon the cargo and its precious cargo. On board, in addition to the 22 crew members, there were over 3,000 car models of all types, all of the Volkswagen group.
According to information released by the press agency, the cargo of the freighter adrift in flames was precious: according to some reconstructions in the holds they were “kept” over 2,500 Porsche; according to other sources, however, the Porsches were “only” 1,100, but accompanied by almost 200 Bentleys in addition to an unknown number of Audi and Lamborghini. In short, whatever the real composition of the load, it is still a real automotive treasure that probably ended up in flames. THE Porsche price listsBentley e Lamborghinias is well known, they are not for all budgets and the damage caused by the flames is expected to exceed tens of millions of euros.
The owner of the freighter has made it known that, flames permitting, he is already organizing the recovery of the wreck and within a few weeks he should be able to get her to safety inside a port. According to some international news agencies (such as Reuters, which reports the statements of Captain Joao Mendes Cabecas), however, the flames would have engulfed the entire ship and the fire, powered by the lithium batteries of some vehicles, is even gaining strength.
Burning cars on the cargo: what happens to those who ordered them
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean they await news with impatience. Anyone who had ordered a car a few months ago would like to know what will become of his racing car and how long will he still have to wait before he can get behind the wheel of the Porsche or Bentley he was waiting for. At the moment, of course, it is not possible to give news or certain information, but referring to what happened in the past (Porsche, for example, had been its protagonist in a similar event in 2019) it is likely that the German manufacturer is already preparing what is necessary for rebuild the cars destroyed in the fire.
Production will take a few weeks (or, at worst, a few months) to complete, but whoever ordered and purchased one of the cars aboard the burning freighter will receive their vehicle in a matter of months. Without having to pay anything, of course.
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