FELICITY ACE - FIRE

[Tom]

Look at this worker's tour on youtube and you can get an idea of how close/cramped it is inside and you'll get a better picture of how easily a fire can spread and how hard it is to fight it...

That's crazy. How any of them arrive without dings is a miracle. It's amazing how an event like this opens your eyes to such a massive industry and human undertaking that goes mostly unnoticed by most of us.

[Tom]

Still going, and it sounds like effective fire fighting equipment for the lithium batteries won't arrive for 2 or 3 more days. The fire is also getting closer to the ship's own fuel tanks, though still not close, according to another report. I'm guessing new fire suppression systems for ev-car carriers will be required quite soon...

https://safety4sea.com/felicity-ace-sti ... aNycGzNB6U

[Hawk]

Still going, and it sounds like effective fire fighting equipment for the lithium batteries won't arrive for 2 or 3 more days. The fire is also getting closer to the ship's own fuel tanks, though still not close, according to another report. I'm guessing new fire suppression systems for ev-car carriers will be required quite soon...

https://safety4sea.com/felicity-ace-sti ... aNycGzNB6U

Let's hope they are able to implement some short term measures before deciding on, and retrofitting, a more permanent solution. RORO's are transporting increasing numbers of EV's every day. Even if an EV was not the initial cause of the fire it has become quite obvious that a different fire suppression system and procedures are absolutely required.

We're meeting with our Fire Marshall today to discuss this very issue concerning the underground parking garage in our high-rise.

[Tom]

Will be interested to hear what one can do on a residential level... My wife is looking to get the new Subaru electric SUV, and I've had my eye on the Tesla Wall to replace our loud back-up generators.... Would be kind of scary if normal fire-fighting equipment doesn't work at the house....?

[Hawk]

Dealers have begun to receive replacement allocations today. It appears from one dealer that some (including a Cay GTS cpe) lock in approximately three weeks with delivery scheduled for June - July. There is also a GT3 which was scheduled to be delivered in March with the replacement allocation scheduled for September.

Porsche is responding very quickly to replace the lost vehicles and it appears that they are doing their best to replace them as quickly as possible. Obviously a difficult situation for all that have lost a vehicle.

[Tom]

First world problems I know, but that's got to be hard on people who have already been waiting a long time. I guess this means Porsche is assuming all the cars on the ship are goners. Based on everything I've seen in the news, I can't blame them. When I bought my first brand new car back in the 80's -- a Mazda -- you had your choice or 5 or 6 colors and 2 or 3 trim levels -- 'maybe' one or two true options like a/c. Mine got damaged on the truck coming from the port, but because there were such a limited number of possible combinations of colors and options, they were able to get me an exact duplicate that same week. How times have changed....

In the meantime, the fire is still going....

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... doned-ship

[Hawk]

First world problems I know, but that's got to be hard on people who have already been waiting a long time. I guess this means Porsche is assuming all the cars on the ship are goners. Based on everything I've seen in the news, I can't blame them. When I bought my first brand new car back in the 80's -- a Mazda -- you had your choice or 5 or 6 colors and 2 or 3 trim levels -- 'maybe' one or two true options like a/c. Mine got damaged on the truck coming from the port, but because there were such a limited number of possible combinations of colors and options, they were able to get me an exact duplicate that same week. How times have changed....

In the meantime, the fire is still going....

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... doned-ship

Porsche is replacing all customer sold vehicles on the Felicity Ace, therefore, in effect declaring it a total loss without stating that it is at this point. The report this evening is that the fire is dying out as "there is nothing left to burn." The ocean going tugs have been cooling the hull with their water cannons and they expect the salvage team will be able to board soon. As reported, their first priority will be to get lines attached to her as she has been drifting further out to sea and they want to get her under control. They will then enter the cargo holds to inspect the extent of the damage / loss.

I certainly remember those good old days when ordering a car. My first new car was a 1967 Camaro. Yes, times have changed mostly for the better but, sometimes not.

[Hawk]

Latest reports state the fire has extinguished itself. Salvage crew on board and the Felicity Ace is now under tow. Final destination still not announced.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/enthusi ... li=BBnbfcL

[staceybsnyder]

And now it has officially sunk. So very sad.

[Hawk]

And now it has officially sunk. So very sad.

Now we will never know how the fire originated. Personally, I was interested to know if a Lithium-ion battery was the source of the initial fire.

One of the last pics before she sank:

screenshot_2022_03_01_at_15_48_58_felicity_ace_has_reportedly_sunk_taking_all_4_000_cars_down_with_it_update__5676f814d2c8e65efa528a9e40a147d9932096ee.png (1.05 MiB) Viewed 1769 times