A Cargo Ship Full Of Luxury Cars Finally Sank After A Days-Long Fire At Sea

Around 4,000 luxury cars are now parked on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean after sinking in a fire-ravaged cargo ship near Portugal on Tuesday.

The ship, called the Felicity Ace, sank after burning at sea for several days, taking its cargo of Porsches, Lamborghinis, Audis and Bentleys down with it.

The ship was on its way from Germany to the U.S. when it caught fire on February 16. The ship's crew was evacuated, but there was no saving the vehicles from the fire.

The Portuguese navy confirmed in a statement that on March 1, the ship sank nearly two weeks after catching fire. The navy also shared photos of the ship before it went down.

The photos show the damage the fire caused to the vessel.

The ship was carrying an estimated $438 million worth of goods, experts at the insurance company Russell Group Ltd. told the Wall Street Journal. And that doesn't include the cost of the ship itself.

"Large parts of the nearly 4,000 vehicles from several group brands were so damaged in the ship fire that they can no longer be delivered," Volkswagen said in a statement to the WSJ.

The vehicles had already been sold and replacements must now be found for those who purchased one.

It's unclear how the fire started but salvage teams put it out. The ship was being towed to shore before it sank about 400 kilometres off the coast of Portugal's Azores Islands, reported ABC News.

The 22 crew members on board were safely evacuated from the burning ship, officials previously said. The Portuguese navy posted a video of the rescue mission to their YouTube showing them evacuating the crew via helicopter.

The ship went down with an estimated 2,000 metric tons of fuel and 2,000 metric tons of oil, The Guardian reports. There are now concerns about the water pollution that it could cause.