Cargo ship carrying Porsches catches fire in the Atlantic

A cargo ship carrying Porsches and Volkswagens has caught fire in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Portugal's navy said 22 crew members evacuated from the massive cargo ship into lifeboats as it sat ablaze and adrift after it caught fire near the mid-Atlantic Azores Islands. The Felicity Ace sounded the alarm after a fire broke out in the hold, the Portuguese Navy said in a statement. The cause of the fire is not known.The 650-feet-long ship was sailing from Emden in  Germany and had left on February 10 and was heading to the port of Davisville in the U.S. state of Rhode Island according to online vessel trackers.

The ship, which can carry up to 4,000 vehicles, was originally expected to arrive at Davisville on February 23. The ship regularly transports cars for Volkswagen, Lamborghini, Audi and Porsche. Eleven crew members have so far have been picked up from a Greek tanker, Resilient Warrior, by a Portuguese Navy helicopter. Porsche has advised anyone whose booked vehicle may have been on the ship to reach out to its dealership. “Anyone concerned by the implications of this incident on a car they’ve ordered should maintain contact with the dealer with which their order was placed. As more information becomes available, our dealers will contact every customer affected to discuss next steps."