Burning Cargo Ship With Bentleys, Porsches and Volkswagens Stranded in the Atlantic Ocean

• The "Felicity Ace" cargo ship with 3965 Bentleys, Porsches, Audis and Volkswagens had a fire in the cargo hold of the vessel in the Atlantic ocean
• The ship departed from Emden, Germany and was sailing about 300 km from the Azores Island when the Portuguese air force was activated to rescue the 22 crew members
• The carrier, bearing a Panamian flag, was headed to Rhode Island in the United States when the fire broke out

The good news is that 22 crew members working on the 'Felicity Ace' merchant ship that had a fire in the cargo hold on Wednesday afternoon are safely at a hotel in Azores, Portugal. The bad news is that there are close to 4000 cars from Porsche and the Volkswagen Group on board that were headed to Davisville Port in Rhode Island from Emden, Germany.

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The merchant ship is owned by MOL Ship Management and sails under a Panama flag. The Portuguese navy has a warship monitoring the Felicity Ace which is 200 metres long, 32 metres wide and was built in 2005.

A North American Porsche spokesman has confirmed that over 1100 of the brand's cars are on board, Car and Driver reports. Porsche contacted customers to inform them that the delivery of their car had been delayed and encouraged owners to get in touch with their local dealership for more information.

Bloomberg reported that Volkswagen Group brands including Lamborghini and Audi were also on board and that more than 100 vehicles were headed to the Port of Houston in Texas. Those vehicles included 100 Golf GTI, Golf R, and ID.4 models were also affected.

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Volkswagen via a statement to Car and Driver said:

"We are aware of an incident today involving a cargo ship transporting Volkswagen Group vehicles across the Atlantic. The vessel had a loading capacity of nearly 4000 vehicles and was on its way to North America. At this time, we are not aware of any injuries. We are working with local authorities and the shipping company to investigate the cause of the incident.”

Watch a video below of the Portuguese air force conducting a rescue mission of Felicity Ace crew members, the Navy issued a statement and said the 22 crew members were successfully rescued, without needing medical assistance.

Chery South Africa is ready to launch its new flagship Tiggo 8 Pro SUV

Chinese carmaker is quickly making a strong comeback in South Africa with the success of its Tiggo 4 Pro entry-level SUV, Briefly News reports.

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The company will add a second to its range with the imminent launch of the flagship Tiggo 8 Pro before the end of February. Judging from the Tiggo 4 Pro's starting price of R274 900, the flagship Tiggo 8 Pro is likely to be competitively priced in comparison to its rivals.

We can expect the Tiggo 8 Pro to be comprehensively specced with standard equipment across the range that will include an 'Around View' camera system, stability control (ESP) and traction control and a digital tyre pressure monitoring system.

Source: Briefly News