A container ship carrying VW, Porsche, Audi and Lamborghini vehicles has caught fire near Portugal’s Azores islands.

The 22 crew members onboard the Felicity Ace vessel were evacuated on Wednesday with no one hurt, Portugal’s navy said in a statement.

A picture shared by the maritime authority showed clouds of smoke billowing from the ship containing Volkswagen Group vehicles.

An internal email from Volkswagen USA stated the vessel was carrying 3,965 vehicles, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported.

Around 1,100 Porsche vehicles were on board, according to a Porsche spokesperson. 

Audi confirmed some of its vehicles were also on board but did not state how many.

Volkswagen did not confirm the number of vehicles on board and said it was awaiting further information.

The ship travelled from Emden, Germany on February 10 – where Volkswagen has a factory – and was expected to arrive in Rhode Island, US, next Wednesday.

The fire is active but under control, the captain of the port of Horta on the Azorean island of Faial told Portuguese news agency Lusa on Thursday night.

A spokesperson for Porche said: ‘Our immediate thoughts are of the 22 crew of the merchant ship Felicity Ace, all of whom we understand are safe and well as a result of their rescue by the Portuguese Navy following reports of a fire on board.’

Volkswagen added: ‘We are aware of an incident involving a third-party cargo ship transporting Volkswagen Group vehicles across the Atlantic.

‘The vessel was on its way to North America from Europe.

‘At this time, we are not aware of any injuries.

‘We are in contact with the shipping company to get more information about the incident.’

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