A ship carrying luxury cars such as Porsches and Bentleys had to be abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean after it caught fire on Wednesday.
The vessel, named Felicity Ace, was travelling from Emden in Germany to a Volkswagen Group (XETRA:VOW) factory in Rhode Island, US when it set ablaze near Portugal’s Azores islands.
According to German newspapers Handelsblatt, nearly 4,000 cars, including models from Volkswagen (VW), Porsche, Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini had to be left on board as the 22-man crew was rescued.
There were 1,100 Porsche vehicles and 189 Bentleys on board, the BBC reported.
Porsche said it was “aware of an incident involving a third-party cargo ship” that was transporting VW Group vehicles across the Atlantic.
A spokesperson for Bentley, quoted on the BBC, said it is “working with the shipping company to find out further information.”
A rescue mission was conducted by the Portuguese navy and Air force, as well as four merchant ships that were sailing in the area.
The cause of the fire is unknown, with a statement by the Portuguese navy adding “so far, no source of pollution has been recorded.”