Ship carrying hundreds of Porsches and Bentleys adrift after catching fire

US-primarily based vehicle reviewer Matt Farah stated on Twitter that a Porsche he had purchased was on the ship.

“I just got the call from my vendor,” he tweeted. “My car is now adrift, possibly on hearth, in the center of the ocean.”

The fire was even now reportedly active as of Thursday night time and the cause is not yet acknowledged. The ships are frequently divided into sections, which could restrict the problems to the cargo.

The ship is operated by Mitsui OSK Strains, which said it “regrets the inconvenience and concern caused”.

It extra: “MOL will make just about every energy to comprise the problems and take care of the situation as the most important priorities.”

The crew are safe in a lodge on the Azores and are in fantastic health, it reported, including that it had appointed a salvage crew which is due to get there at the vessel on Friday.

Between the 3,965 cars and trucks afflicted were being Volkswagen and Lamborghinis, in accordance to the German newspaper Handelsblatt.

Container ship fires are rare, but can be catastrophic. In 2018, a fire on the Maersk Honam claimed the lives of five of its 27 crew after chemical substances it was carrying caught fireplace and the ship’s carbon dioxide hearth suppression program was not able to convey the blaze under regulate. It was salvaged and renamed the Maersk Halifax.

Container ship sizes have improved by 1,500personal computer since 1968, in accordance to insurer Allianz, which has warned that ever-extra sophisticated hearth-preventing devices will be necessary to keep up.

Volkswagen did not immediately reply to a request for remark.