Another car carrier sinks, this time in Persian Gulf

ISTANBUL: A United Arab Emirates-flagged cargo ship carrying cars sank in the Persian Gulf, Iran’s ports authority said Thursday, with poor weather hampering the rescue operation.

One member of the vessel’s 30-member crew has died in the incident and 28 others have so far been rescued and taken to the Iranian port city of Assalouyeh, the Ports & Maritime Organisation said in a statement, without naming the ship or giving a reason for the sinking.

The Associated Press identified the ship as the Al Salmy 6, citing Nizar Qaddoura, operations manager of the UAE-based Salem Al Makrani Cargo Co.

The company is the vessel’s registered owner, according to the International Maritime Organization’s online database.

The vessel sank 48.3km off the Iranian coast, according to the statement.

Bloomberg did not report on the car makes and models lost at sea.

This is the second car carrier to sink in recent weeks.

The Felicity Ace sank 220 nautical miles off the coast of Portugal’s Azores Islands on March 1 after it caught fire on Feb 16. Its cargo of roughly 4,000 Volkswagen AG vehicles meant for the US market went down with it.

However, Volkswagen has stated this week that it would replace all customer cars that were lost in the incident. Among the cars were Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae and Urus models as well as Volkswagen models, Bentleys and Audis.