Looks like we are finally down to the nub of it... The MONEY.

Look at the options here: If they are able to save the ship the salvage and clean up operations are expected to cost BIG money if and when she is towed to a port. The ACE is junk at this point and will be scrapped.

The root cause of the fire is suspected but not conclusive. If it is determined to be conclusive then one auto manufacturer may well be set to pay the entire cost of the event, the salvage the investigation and the loss after years of protracted litigation of course. All of this will be well after the general average event clause is applied to all parties and the combined innocent bystander businesses that simply had goods aboard then get to legally go after the offending root cause source of the disaster manufacturer.

Finally this event points out just how dangerous an EV can be when it catches fire and that may explain the restraint on images, and reporting surrounding this event.

Now looking at the components of the battery in an EV... If battery packs are shipped in commerce right now they are considered dangerous goods and are requited to be shipped in a specially regulated and constructed overpack.

So will future shipping of EV's aboard ship require a monitored shipping container for each vehicle rigged to detect heat or fire with a robotic retrieval system able to grab the offending container and immediately eject it overboard? Many questions....

Lawyers are beginning to ask: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/th...board-3396944/


Frankly, it would not surprise me one bit to see the ACE have an unfortunate "turn for the worst" and sink.

----The lawyers will rake in a fortune on this!.....Bill S

Today's update:


Statement 7- 25th February, 2022.
​
MOL Ship Management (Singapore) updates the situation regarding the ‘Felicity Ace’ car carrier.

There is no oil leakage from the vessel, and the stability of the vessel remains stable. The smoke leaving the vessel has currently stopped and is not visible.


The salvage team on site were able to board Felicity Ace by a helicopter and the vessel has started being towed by the large salvage craft ‘Bear’ to a safe area off Azores.

Two tugs, ‘ALP Guard’ and ‘Dian Kingdom’, together with a large salvage craft with additional firefighting capability ‘V.B. Hispanic’ are escorting the vessel.

​MOL, MOL Ship Management (Singapore), and the salvage team are cooperating fully with local authorities and resources from the Azores to find an early solution to this incident.

Video report here: https://www.autonews.com/automakers-...s-felicity-ace

(the rest of the site is behind a paywall.)

Lamborghini is reportedly looking at the logistics of restarting Aventador production.

The cars aboard the ACE are reported to be "beyond salvage".

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a3...ce-cargo-ship/

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/l...re-182610.html

Update:

"No visible flames or smoke coming from the vessel. However, the team reports that there remain high temperatures, especially in the midships section"

"The Captain of the Port of Horta in the Azores, who has been monitoring the firefight and salvage operation, was quoted as saying that they would not permit the hulk to enter their protected waters due to the environmental danger."

Link:

https://www.maritime-executive.com/a...vage-operation

Massive cargo ship carrying cars sinks in mid-Atlantic

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...edgdhp&pc=U531

Something-something... post 41 of this thread.
:biggthumpup:

Our gal just before she had an "unfortunate turn for the worst" and went to Davy Jones locker.

BURNED to a crisp.

"Unfortunately with the ship now at the bottom of the ocean, we may never know what caused the initial fire or contributed to its spread".

Link: https://gcaptain.com/felicity-ace-si...tlantic-ocean/

Exactly. New cars are expendable

I was at least hoping to see a video of the sinking.....:biggthumpup:

"The Felicity Ace sank 220 nautical miles off the coast of Portugal’s Azores Islands around 9 a.m. local time on Tuesday after being battered by waves and leaning 45 degrees to its starboard side, the ship’s operator said.

Joao Mendes Cabecas, the captain of the nearest port on the island of Faial, told Reuters the Panama-flagged Felicity Ace had sunk as efforts to tow it began due to structural problems caused by the fire"...

"When the towing started... water started to come in," he said. "The ship lost its stability and sank."

"WATER CAME IN when we started to tow it" well you don't SAY? Shazam! Well Gooolllllyyy.. NOBODY could have seen that one coming. Felicity had ZERO chance of coming back and literally everyone knew what would happen and better yet what would be caused to happen.

I have a feeling that the salvage team will not be held responsible. Not responsible for mitigating the list prior to towing and doing the due diligence on the hull breach inspection.

SO I am dedicating this song to our ship and if you follow the lyrics it is strangely appropriate.

Sinking or being sunk.


Tommy

"Millions of dollars of toxic cars are lying at the bottom of the ocean after a massive cargo ship fire. Now, authorities are looking for someone to blame."

Well here we go...entertaining like a watching a dog chase its tail. Tough questions for the salvage team perhaps as the insurance companies get ready to pay an enormous amount of money in losses.

Link: https://www.news.com.au/travel/trave...5a65f102910e08

I wonder how many of the customers of these cars are now cancelling orders based on the current world events? I'll never be of the means to place an order for such a vehicle, but if you have are there methods to cancel the order now that your car is at the bottom of the ocean? Sounds like at least you may be on the hook for a deposit?

Companies are lining up to replace customer's cars:

VW

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/c...rm-184199.html

Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae Going Back Into Production To Replace The 15 Lost During Sinking Of Felicity Ace

https://www.carscoops.com/2022/03/la...-felicity-ace/


The lingering questions about pollution from the wreck remain in the news:

https://www.popularmechanics.com/sci...lution-hazard/

The analysis of what is known is in and business determinations are being made.

https://freewestmedia.com/2023/01/20...electric-cars/