Porsches, Lamborghinis lost at sea may cost VW US$155mil
By BLOOMBERG | 22 February 2022NEW YORK: The cargo ship carrying about 4,000 Volkswagen AG vehicles that caught fire last week could cost the automaker at least US$155 million (RM649mil), according to a risk-modelling company’s estimate.
Of the roughly US$438 million (RM1.8bil) total value of goods aboard the Felicity Ace, which went up in flames off the coast of Portugal’s Azores Islands, Russell Group said Monday it estimates there are US$401 million (RM1.7bil) worth of cars. VW group had Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini models on the vessel.
A VW spokesman declined to comment on the situation Monday.
Two large tugs with firefighting equipment were expected to arrive Monday morning local time to start spraying water together with an initial salvage team that was on board already to cool down the ship, according to a unit of Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd.
No oil leakage has been confirmed and the vessel remains stable, the transport company said on a website set up to provide updates on the incident.
Russell Group is modelling the total value of vehicles on board, so its cost projections assume all vehicles are lost, according to a spokesman.
The company estimates auto manufacturers other than VW may have lost about US$246 million (RM1bil) worth of vehicles.
A spokesman for BMW AG said none of the company’s vehicles are on board, while a Mercedes-Benz AG spokesman said the automaker isn’t aware of any of its vehicles being on the ship.
Felicity Ace is roughly the size of three football fields. It was on its way to a port in Davisville, Rhode Island, from Germany’s port of Emden when the fire broke out on Feb 16.
Tags
Autos Volkswagen
Reviews
Jaecoo J7: Ready to rumble
7.6
Hyundai Ioniq 6 Max RWD driven
8.2
Proton X90 Flagship: Powerful, roomy, refined, premium appoi...
Tesla's brash Cybertruck: A blend of Wild West and space tec...
6.0
Royal Enfield Interceptor 650: Hark to the past
Ferrari Roma Spider: Open-top romp
7.2