Cargo ship carrying thousands of luxury cars sinks in Atlantic Ocean with cars on board

A cargo ship carrying thousands of luxury cars has sunk to the ocean floor after 13 days afloat.

The 650-foot-long, 60,000-ton cargo ship transporting Porsches, Bentleys and Audis sank Tuesday in the mid-Atlantic, the ship’s manager and the Portuguese Navy confirmed.

Porsche customers in the United States were expected to be contacted by their dealers and will receive replacements in the near future.

“We are already working to replace every car affected by this incident and the first new cars will be built soon,” Angus Fitton, vice president of PR at Porsche Cars North America, told USA TODAY.

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The cargo ship first caught fire on Feb. 16. Authorities haven't confirmed the cause, but lithium batteries used in electric vehicles could be to blame.

The ship was carrying 2,200 tons of fuel and 2,200 tons of oil, causing officials to fear it would cause ocean pollution. But the Portuguese Navy said in a statement that only a few pieces of wreckage and a small patch of oil were visible where the ship went down. Tugboats broke up the patch with hoses, it said.

A Portuguese Air Force plane and a Portuguese Navy vessel were expected to remain at the scene on the lookout for signs of pollution.

Contributed: The Associated Press

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