Towing boats were on route from Gibraltar and the Netherlands, with three due to arrive by Wednesday, Cabecas said. He added the vessel could not be towed to the Azores because it was so big it would block trade at the port.
U.S. economist Patrick Anderson last week first estimated the initial loss could be $255 million, but by Friday bumped his calculation up to $282 million.
“Looking at the entire cargo, assuming that three-fourths of the vehicles are a total loss, and averaging the wholesale value at a lower amount (to account for the VWs plus some Bentleys and a lot of Audis), suggests this involves about $376,675,000 worth of cargo. Probably three-fourths of that, or $282,506,250 is a total loss, if the ship is indeed still burning as of now (as is reported and for which we have video evidence.)
“Again, we do not have a good assessment of the degree of damage to the cargo from any inspection, but fire, water, smoke, and submersion damage are all overlapping likelihoods for these vehicles.
“These amounts do not include the downstream loss at dealers. It also doesn’t include any salvage, environmental, or other costs, nor the ship itself, nor any lost wages of the crew or costs to the Portuguese that rescued them.”
A 16-person salvage team from Smit Salvage, owned by Dutch marine engineer Boskalis, was sent to the ship to help control the flames, Boskalis said.
The Panama-flagged ship, owned by Snowscape Car Carriers SA and managed by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., was travelling from Emden, Germany — where Volkswagen has a factory — to Davisville, Rhode Island, based on the Maritime Traffic website. Davisville is a port about 70 miles south of Boston, Massachusetts.
About 1,100 Porsches and 189 Bentleys were on board, spokespeople for the car brands said. Audi, another Volkswagen brand, confirmed some of its vehicles were also on the ship but did not state how many.
An internal email from Volkswagen’s U.S. operations revealed there were 3,965 Volkswagen Group vehicles aboard the ship.
More than 100 of those cars were headed for the Port of Houston in Texas, with GTI, Golf R, and ID.4 models deemed to be at risk, according to the email. The auto industry is already struggling with supply issues, including pandemic-related staffing woes and the global chip shortage.
YouTuber Matt Farah, whose automotive review channel “The Smoking Tire” has more than a million followers, said on Twitter he was contacted by a car dealer who said the Porsche he ordered was aboard the ship.
“My car is now adrift, possibly on fire, in the middle of the ocean,” Farah tweeted.
Source: https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/firefighters-struggle-douse-blaze-burning-ship