A huge car carrier named ‘Felicity Ace’ with a capacity of 6400 CEU and 656 feet in length, caught fire yesterday off the coast of the Azores in Portugal, along with its precious cargo comprising almost 4,000 luxury vehicles.

The Japanese owned car carrier ‘Felicity Ace’ built in 2005, with a market value today of USD 31.50 million, began transmitting distress signals after a fire broke out in one of the cargo decks. Fortunately, all 22 crew members are reported to have been evacuated safely, according to the New York Times. The vessel however is believed to have thousands of highly valuable Porsches, Volkswagens, Bentleys and Lamborghinis aboard, totaling over USD 200 million. At the moment it is unclear as to the full extent of valuable cargo lost.

“There are very few suitable ships available in the market to replace her. MOL will have a difficult few days ahead dealing with insurance claims and fleet network changes.”

The vessel departed from Emden, Germany last Thursday and was on route to Davisville, US when the fire broke out. The ‘Felicity Ace’ last signaled at 12:11 on Thursday 17th February with a laden draft of 9.2m.