In February 2022, a massive car-carrying vessel, the Felicity Ace, caught fire in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, carrying thousands of luxury vehicles, including high-end Porsche 911s, Bentleys, and custom-ordered Lamborghinis. The ship, which was transporting 3,965 Volkswagen Group vehicles from Europe to the United States, became the site of a dramatic and costly maritime disaster.

The fire started on February 16, 2022, as the Felicity Ace was about 220 kilometers (137 miles) from the Azores, a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The blaze forced all 22 crew members to abandon ship. Thankfully, the entire crew was rescued safely by nearby vessels, but the fire continued to burn inside the ship’s sealed car decks. The exact cause of the fire remains a mystery, but experts suspect that some of the electric vehicles on board, which contained lithium-ion batteries, may have contributed to the blaze’s intensity and prolonged nature. Lithium-ion batteries are notorious for being difficult to extinguish once ignited, which likely added to the scale of the fire.

While the crew was saved, the Felicity Ace was left to drift aimlessly in the Atlantic for days as efforts to contain the fire proved unsuccessful. On March 1, 2022, the 200-meter-long vessel began to list during a salvage attempt, and, despite efforts to tow it to safer waters, it finally sank to the ocean floor in waters more than 3,000 meters (9,843 feet) deep. The sinking of the ship marked the end of a story that was as tragic as it was costly. Hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of luxury cars, including several rare Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae models, Porsche 911s, and high-end Bentleys, were lost to the depths of the Atlantic.

The loss was not just financial but also environmental. The Felicity Ace was carrying a significant amount of heavy fuel oil, industrial fluids, and the lithium-ion batteries from the electric vehicles. These materials posed a considerable pollution risk, as experts feared that, over time, they might leak into the deep-sea ecosystem, causing long-term harm. The wreck remains under constant observation by maritime authorities and environmental groups concerned about the potential for ongoing pollution in the area.

While the Felicity Ace lies more than two miles beneath the ocean’s surface, many have been captivated by the mystery surrounding the ship’s final moments and the luxurious vehicles it carried. There have been several viral images circulating online, depicting the wreck as a “sunken parking garage.” However, most of these images are either computer-generated artwork or AI concepts, as no actual diver photos of the wreck exist due to its extreme depth and the difficulty in accessing the site.

Today, the Felicity Ace stands as a strange and tragic symbol of both the luxury car industry and the potential dangers associated with the transportation of electric vehicles. A floating tower of high-end automobiles, it never reached its destination and now rests deep in the Atlantic, its contents slowly corroding at the bottom of the ocean. As we continue to monitor the environmental impact of this sinking, it serves as a reminder of the complex risks that come with transporting goods in a rapidly changing world.