Photo: somanyhorses
Currency fire at sea
–
–
The cargo ship Felicity Ace, which was carrying nearly 4,000 expensive cars from Germany to the United States, caught fire.
Almost 4,000 luxury cars were loaded at Felicity Ace, including cars from brands such as Porsche, Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini. The ship left the coast of Germany on February 9 and headed towards the United States, but in the area of the Portuguese Azores, a fire broke out on it.
What happened
The fire started in one of the holds of the ship and began to spread rapidly on board, including “thanks” to the cargo. The fact is that many cars are equipped with lithium-ion batteries, which are highly flammable.
It is not yet known what caused the fire and whether it was related to car batteries.
A team of 22 was evacuated the same day the fire started. But the ship continued to burn for several days, because special equipment was needed to extinguish the batteries, which the Portuguese firefighters did not have.
On Monday, the flames subsided, as, according to port officials, “there is nothing left to burn.”
Huge losses
The ship is currently located about 90 nautical miles from Faial Island in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Portuguese authorities also feared that the combustion products of lithium-ion batteries could lead to environmental pollution, however, as of Monday, they did not detect a spill of hazardous substances.
With a starting price of $99,650 per car, the total value of burned-out cars could top $500 million, according to Skytek, an IT company that specializes in creating innovative solutions for industrial sectors.
According to the company’s appraisers, the fire that broke out on the cargo ship Felicity Ace could result in losses for the marine reinsurance market in an amount similar to the cost of cars.
–
