Porsche is facing two separate lawsuits in Germany regarding a car carrier fire in 2022, claimed to have been ignited by one of the brand’s electric vehicles (EVs) onboard the ship.
In February 2022, a fire broke out on the Panama-flagged, Japanese-run Felicity Ace car carrier, sparked by one of the circa-3800 vehicles on the vessel.
The ship – which had departed Germany and was on the way to a US port in Rhode Island – later capsized and sank 400 kilometres off the Portuguese coast, though all 22 crew members were rescued unharmed.
Business publication Bloomberg reports both Mitsui – the ship’s operator – and the car carrier’s insurer Allianz have filed lawsuits against Porsche in Germany, alleging the fire was triggered by a faulty EV made by the marque.
According to the plaintiffs, Porsche’s parent company Volkswagen failed to inform Mitsui and Allianz of the dangers and precautionary measures required to transport an EV.
It’s reported the cases were filed last year but the plaintiffs and judges haven’t been able to agree on the amount of collateral to be posted before proceedings begin.
While Volkswagen confirmed it had received the lawsuits when asked by Bloomberg, it didn’t provide a comment regarding the allegations.
The Felicity Ace was carrying a mix of new and used vehicles, which included 15 Lamborghini Aventador Ultimaes – resulting in production of the supercar restarting to complete the unfulfilled deliveries.
No Australian-bound vehicles were affected.
MORE: Here’s a list of cars that sank with the Felicity Ace car carrier
