LISBON (Reuters) -Heavy tug boats on Tuesday sprayed water on a ship off the coast of Portugal’s Azore Islands which went on hearth almost every week in the past carrying hundreds of Porsches and Bentleys, an incident insurance coverage specialists mentioned may lead to $155 million in losses.
The losses would seemingly fall on continental European insurance coverage markets, specialist publication Insurance Insider reported, citing nameless sources, with Volkswagen’s in-house insurance coverage overlaying a number of the value.
Data and analytics firm Russell Group estimated the loss at round $155 million, which Insurance Insider mentioned chimed with estimates by sources throughout the London market of round $140 million.
Lithium-ion batteries in electrical automobiles on board made the fireplace very troublesome to extinguish, the captain of the closest port mentioned, elevating questions in regards to the security of transporting them when carmakers worldwide are stepping up manufacturing.
The 22 crew members on board the ship, known as the Felicity Ace, had been evacuated the identical day the fireplace broke out.
Ship supervisor Mitsui O.S.Okay. Lines Ltd (MOL) mentioned in a press release the vessel was nonetheless on hearth however secure, and that no oil leak had been reported thus far.
Two giant tug boats outfitted with firefighting gear arrived from Gibraltar on Monday, and had been working with one other patrol boat to spray water on the Felicity Ace and funky it down, MOL mentioned.
“When circumstances are protected the salvage crew will board the Felicity Ace for an preliminary evaluation,” MOL added.
MOL didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters request for remark on the reason for the fireplace.
Two different tug boats with extra firefighting tools had been scheduled to reach Feb. 23 and Feb. 26.
João Mendes Cabeças, the captain of the closest port on the Azorean island of Faial, mentioned on Sunday the fireplace had misplaced its depth, in all probability as a result of there was little left to burn.
(Reporting by Catarina Demony in Lisbon and Victoria Waldersee in Berlin; Editing by Jane Merriman and Keith Weir)
