The 200-meter-long vessel, designed for transporting cars and trucks, caught fire in February 2022 south of the Azores while carrying 3,965 Volkswagen Group cars, including Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, and Bentley models. All 22 crew members were rescued by the Portuguese Navy, but the ship, followed by the Portuguese Navy patrol ship NRP Setúbal, burned for about a week before capsizing and sinking in early March 2022. Analysts estimated the cargo loss at between $334 million and $401 million. The exact cause of the fire remains unknown, but it is suspected that lithium-ion batteries in the electric cars may have ignited.
