MOL Sues Volkswagen for the Loss of Felicity Ace Car Carrier in Fire

In Feb 2022, the Felicity Ace cargo vessel caught fire and sank eventually, ending at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Nearly 4,000 cars perished in the incident; most of them were new vehicles from Volkswagen Group brands.

The episode is not yet over for the automotive conglomerate, as the German juggernaut is now encountering two lawsuits. Bloomberg has reported that the VW Group has already been sued two times over allegations that the fire sparked off from a lithium-ion battery pack within a Porsche that was being transported for a customer. Felicity Ace caught fire when it was close to the Azores archipelago.

It was loaded with about $155 million worth of high-end cars, including 1,110 Porsches. Plaintiffs claim that one of those cars led to the fire that generated a catastrophe. One of the lawsuits had been filed in a court based in Stuttgart, where Porsche calls its home.

The lawsuit is headed by Mitsui OSK Lines, the operator and insurer of Felicity Ace, Allianz. Interestingly enough, the lawsuit was filed over one year ago, but its progression was halted due to mediation discussions for a second lawsuit at a court in Brunswick, located in Germany’s Lower Saxony.

More discussions between the involved and relevant parties are scheduled for later in the month. If a settlement isn’t eventually reached, the lawsuits will resume. Per documents related to the 2023 lawsuit, the plaintiffs accuse VW of withholding info regarding the risks linked to the transportation of electrified cars.

Besides, the lawsuit filed in the Stuttgart court also alleges that VW miserably failed to disclose necessary precautions for the safe transportation of cars. Bloomberg further reports that the fire had begun from a Porsche EV, the Taycan. However, it is also worth noting that the automaker sells an assortment of Panamera and Cayenne versions with plugged-in hybrid powertrains that boast relatively smaller battery packs.

The parent firm VW has also confirmed the two lawsuits, while Allianz and Mitsui OSK Lines refused to comment. Volkswagen has also confirmed to its buyers after the vessel was lost that its highly sought-after ID.4 electric SUVs were among the vehicles that the firm lost. It told the buyers that they‘d revise production strategies to prioritize those replacements.

The group reportedly had 1,100 Porsches and 189 Bentleys on the Felicity Ace. Allianz issued many reports highlighting fire danger from EVs and considers fires to be one of the preliminary causes of maritime claims the firm experienced. They have also called for improved fire safety standards and precautions in the transportation of the vehicles, which have been blamed for other casualties.

Photographs surfaced during last year’s salvage operation for the Fremantle Highway, yet another car carrier, showing that electric vehicles smouldered weeks following the fire extinguishing on the vessel. The batteries’ characteristics make the fire more difficult to fight and raise the dangers of a runaway situation on the vessels.

Reference: motor1

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