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Possible fire aboard sunken cargo ship believed to have started by Porsche EV; Volkswagen facing double lawsuits

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Sank cargo ship may have caught fire from Porsche EV on board; VW sued twice

A cargo ship carrying thousands of new cars sank in February 2022, resulting in the loss of as many as 4,000 vehicles. Recent allegations suggest that the fire that caused the ship to sink may have been started by a blaze in a Porsche EV on board.

The Felicity Ace cargo ship, which sank off the coast of Portugal’s Azores, was built in 2005 as a purpose-built car carrier. Among the luxury cars on board were 189 Bentley units, 15 Lamborghini Aventadors, 50 Lamborghini Urus units, 297 Audi Q3 units, 147 Audi Q5 Sportback units, 1,110 Porsche units, and a number of Volkswagen-branded cars. All of these vehicles sank along with the ship, as the wreckage now lies 10,000 feet below the surface.

The operator of the cargo ship, Mitsui OSK Lines of Japan, reportedly suffered losses amounting to $500 million. As a result, the company has filed a lawsuit in Stuttgart, where Porsche is headquartered, along with insurer Allianz and four other plaintiffs. A second lawsuit has been filed in a court in Braunschweig. Volkswagen, the parent company of Porsche, has also confirmed another lawsuit.

The plaintiffs allege that the fire originated from the lithium-ion battery of a Porsche model and claim that VW failed to inform them of the danger and necessary precautions needed to transport such vehicles. The lawsuit, which was filed a year ago, is still pending as the parties continue to dispute the amount of collateral required before the case can proceed.

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