Sinking of the “Felicity Ace”: Ship owner and insurance companies sue Porsche and VW

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Expensive freight:

There were almost 4,000 new cars from various VW brands on board the “Felicity Ace”, including vehicles from Porsche

Photo: PORTUGUESE NAVY / via REUTERS

After the sinking of a car freighter in February 2022, the ship owner and insurance companies are suing Porsche and another VW company for damages.

The plaintiff is asserting claims totaling almost 30 million euros against the sports car manufacturer, as a spokesman for the Stuttgart regional court announced on Wednesday upon request.

A second case – against Porsche and another, unnamed Volkswagen company – is currently pending in Braunschweig.

The “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” and the “Braunschweiger Zeitung” had previously reported.

The approximately 200-meter-long car freighter “Felicity Ace” was traveling from Emden to the USA in February 2022 when a fire broke out on it near the Azores in the Atlantic.

The crew was rescued, but the ship later sank during a towing attempt.

There were almost 4,000 new cars from various VW brands on board, including Porsche vehicles.

The fire is said to have started in a Porsche

The origin and cause of the fire remain unclear.

This is now being argued in court.

According to the Stuttgart regional court, the ship's owner, who is based in Tokyo, Japan, claims that the fire started from a Porsche whose lithium-ion battery allegedly caught fire.

The owner states, among other things, that Porsche did not point out the danger and necessary precautions when transporting its electric vehicles with high-performance batteries.

A spokesman for the sports car manufacturer did not comment on the details of the proceedings on Wednesday: “Porsche AG confirms that it has been served with civil lawsuits in Germany in connection with the sinking of the “Felicity Ace”.

Since these are ongoing proceedings, we cannot currently comment on further details.”

There is no date for the oral hearing in Stuttgart yet.

The proceedings are suspended due to mediation before the Braunschweig regional court.

This is scheduled to take place in March.

However, a court spokesman in Braunschweig did not provide any details about the proceedings there, as the matter had not yet been heard publicly.

“If the appointment remains inconclusive, the proceedings will continue in dispute before the responsible civil chamber,” it said.

According to the courts, the lawsuits were filed in spring 2023.

In addition to the “Felicity Ace”, the major fire on the “Fremantle Highway” last July also caused a stir, in which an electric car was once again said to be the cause of the fire.

The Norwegian transport company Havila was the first shipping company to take action by suspending the shipping of electric cars until further notice.

lb/dpa AFX