A freighter from Germany to the United States caught fire at sea, carrying nearly 4,000 Volkswagen Group merchandise vehicles, including 1,100 Porsches and 189 Bentleys, my goodness!
Recently, a giant freighter flying the Panamanian flag caught fire about 90 nautical miles southwest of the Atlantic Azores, the freighter named "Felicity Ace" was sailing from Germany to the United States at the time, carrying 3965 New Volkswagen Group merchandise vehicles, including 1100 Porsches, 189 Bentleys, as well as Audi, Lamborghini, Volkswagen ID and other brand models, but the specific model has no clearer information.
It doesn't matter which car, what matters is that the mentality of the American prospective owners who are patiently waiting is about to collapse, and it is estimated that they will wake up and find the message received on their mobile phones: Sorry, the vehicle you ordered burned out at sea.
As the operator of the Felicity Ace freighter, Japanese merchant ship Mitsui has issued an announcement that the company has sent two rescue tugboats to the rescue, and at present, the open fire on the freighter has been extinguished, and the 22 crew members on board have also been rescued, but the ship is still drifting at sea in unmanned state.
According to the Portuguese side, the cargo ship carried a considerable number of pure electric vehicles, including Porsche Taycan, Audi e-tron and Volkswagen ID.4 models, but whether the cause of the fire came from these pure electric vehicles has not yet been confirmed. A captain at the nearest port of Hottas told Reuters that although the fire on board had been extinguished, the ship was now at great risk of fire, as the lithium batteries on the pure electric vehicle in the cabin were likely to be burning as well. If the power battery also catches fire, this will bring greater difficulties to the rescue work.
As we all know, when the lithium-ion battery on the pure electric vehicle is burned, the temperature in the battery pack will quickly exceed 1200 degrees Celsius, which is much higher than the flame temperature at room temperature and pressure. In addition, even if the open flame is extinguished, the reaction inside the battery may not stop completely, which will lead to a re-ignition. And extinguishing the fire of lithium batteries requires more professional fire extinguishing equipment and avoids contact with any high-voltage components inside the battery to prevent potential electric shock. Some professional institutions have analyzed that the current fire extinguishing method is not the traditional direct use of water to extinguish the goods, but the use of cooling the hull from the outside, if the direct use of water will increase the weight of the hull, weaken the stability of the hull, there is a possibility of sinking.
According to russell group analysis, the total value of the cars carried on the Felicity Ace is $400 million, including the total value of the cargo ship is estimated at $438 million, according to the latest statistics, the fire has caused a loss of $335 million (about 2.115 billion yuan), and the loss of 1100 Porsches alone is as high as $140 million (about 884 million yuan).
A Porsche dealer from Philadelphia, USA, said: "This accident will cause our customers to continue to delay for several months to get a new car, but also we need to compensate customers, such as some customers who have ordered the new cayenne, we will upgrade them to a higher configuration for free." “
A Volkswagen Group spokesperson recently said that the company has been aware of the fire of the Felicity Ace freighter, and it is not yet clear what the specific damage caused by the accident, and the Volkswagen Group is cooperating with local authorities and shipping companies to investigate the cause of the accident. In addition, the CEO of Porsche China also responded a few days ago that the ship was carrying Porsche models sold to the North American market, which currently has no impact on the Chinese market, but it is not excluded that this accident will affect the delivery of Chinese customers in the future.
For volkswagen group, in the current tight global supply of automotive chips, this accident is undoubtedly worse, which will lead to a large delay in the delivery of new cars. At the same time, there are also outsiders began to question the safety of long-distance shipping of pure electric vehicles, chip shortages, the global epidemic caused by the interruption of some international trade routes, and now there is a maritime fire safety issue in the automotive industry supply chain, Volkswagen Group may become a typical case of how to face the setback of automobile supply.
Trivia: About international car transport
★ What are the ways of international motor transport?
Most cars cross the ocean by freighter to the port of destination, but also by rail and air, the most common of which are three:
1. Ro-Ro shipping
Driving a car to a boat and transporting it from one place to another is less costly but less safe for a car.
2. Container transportation
Place the car in a container, and then place the container on a cargo ship or train. This method is more common, more secure and protectative, but also more expensive.
3. Air Freight
Getting your vehicle straight on the plane and flying directly to your destination airport is the fastest, but also the most expensive way to do it.
★ How much does shipping cost?
For standard international shipping services, the average cost of transporting a car ranges from $1,000 to $5,000, and in the case of air freight, the cost will increase to $5,000 to $40,000. Shipping costs depend on a variety of factors, including distance between ports, route of travel, mode of transport, carrier, additional taxes, etc.
★ How long the shipping time is
The average transit time is between 30-60 days, depending on the origin and destination of the car, in addition, there is also time to prepare for transportation and loading, as well as it takes some time for vehicle clearance. If you're shipping a luxury car or a vintage car, you need to consider the fastest way to get to your destination, and you need to book a separate container instead of sharing it with other vehicles to guarantee a faster process.
The author of this article is Kick Car Gang Jia Yuntao