Thousands of Porsche and Volkswagen automobiles were abandoned on a cargo ship in the Atlantic Ocean en way to the United States when it caught fire

Thousands of Porsche and Volkswagen automobiles were abandoned on a cargo ship in the Atlantic Ocean en way to the United States when it caught fire.

The Felicity Ace was on her way from Emden, Germany, when it caught fire off the coast of the Azores Islands in Portugal.

According to the German publication Handelsblatt, the ship was carrying 3,965 automobiles, including Audis, Lamborghinis, and a small number of Bentleys. The crew of the ship has been rescued.

The fire, which started on Wednesday, caused no injuries, according to the Portuguese navy, and the 22 crew members were brought to a hotel after the navy, four commercial ships in the region, and the Portuguese Air Force finished the evacuation.

The military stated in a statement that "the owner of the ship Felicity Ace is in contact with the logistic agency in order to put out a strategy for the towing of the ship."

"At this time, no source of contamination has been identified."

An internal communication from Volkswagen USA, according to Handelsblatt, said that the ship was transporting 3,965 automobiles from the VW, Porsche, Audi, and Lamborghini brands.

The amount of automobiles on board was not confirmed by Volkswagen, but Porsche indicated it had roughly 1,100 of its models on board.

"An incident involved a third-party cargo ship moving Volkswagen Group automobiles across the Atlantic," the firm claimed.

Bentley acknowledged that the ship had 189 of its vehicles on board.

A spokeswoman stated, "We're working with the shipping business to find out more information."

According to the website Marine Traffic, the ship was on its way to a Volkswagen facility in Davisville, Rhode Island.