There is definitely by no means a very good time for a large ship carrying lots of of thousands and thousands of {dollars} value of autos to catch fireplace and sink.

However for bespoke luxurious model Bentley, what tragically occurred to the Felicity Ace in February within the frigid waters of the North Atlantic weirdly might have been a case of the incorrect ship … on the proper time.

Why? As a result of not like different large automotive carriers that frequently ferry Volkswagen Group autos from Europe to prospects and dealerships in North America, the Felicity Ace did not have 40 to 70 Bentleys aboard, as is typical, among the many roughly 4,000 autos on that exact crusing.

It had a complete lot greater than that: 189, every carrying a median price ticket of about $300,000, in accordance with a Bentley spokeswoman.

But, with fast motion and because of a weird set of worldwide circumstances, Bentley — which manufactures every of its autos by hand in its single manufacturing facility in Crewe, England — was in a position to exchange each one in every of its sunken treasures, together with custom-designed Mulliner fashions, delivering the final of them in September.

“Earlier than the boat even went down, we had positioned each order again in our system,” recalled Mike Rocco, the previous Toyota and Nissan government who’s now vice chairman of gross sales and operations at Bentley Americas. “Of the 189 vehicles on board, 151 had been [presold or custom-ordered], and we misplaced three or 4 prospects, tops. Our sellers did a improbable job of sustaining the purchasers and retaining them knowledgeable.”

When the Felicity Ace departed the German port of Emden on Feb. 10, the service, owned by Mitsui O.S.Okay. Strains of Japan, was loaded with almost 4,000 Volkswagen Group autos, together with about 1,900 Audis, 1,100 Porsches, 500 Volkswagens and 85 Lamborghinis heading from factories in Europe to dealerships in North America.

The 189 Bentleys aboard had been ferried from England to Emden to catch their trip throughout the ocean; the massive quantity was attributable to supply-related manufacturing delays with different VW Group manufacturers that had inadvertently concentrated Bentley’s deliveries aboard the Felicity Ace, Rocco stated.

The Felicity Ace initially was scheduled to reach on the Port of Davisville in Rhode Island on Feb. 23 and was averaging about 14 knots on what was a routine voyage. However six days into its trans-Atlantic journey, its crew of twenty-two reported a hearth in one of many ship’s cargo decks. On the time, the ship was about 90 nautical miles southwest of the Azores islands and about 900 miles west of Lisbon, Portugal.

The hearth’s origins stay unknown, however a lot of the autos aboard had been outfitted with flammable lithium ion battery packs or had at the very least partial tanks of extremely flamable gasoline. As efforts to comprise the blaze failed, the flames unfold uncontrolled, and the crew was compelled to desert ship close to the Azores, leaving the nonetheless burning hulk drifting within the North Atlantic, with an enormous plume of white smoke rising from her now-exposed decks. Half of the crew had been rescued from a lifeboat; one other 11 had been rescued by the close by crude oil tanker Resilient Warrior.

The hearth’s timing was notably dangerous. Volkswagen Group was already fighting manufacturing disruptions attributable to a scarcity of microchips. There was no extra stock to tug from or manufacturing capability that may very well be added to make up the lack of the Felicity Ace autos. And 15 of the Lamborghinis aboard had been Aventador Ultimaes — the final of a restricted run marking the top of the Aventador nameplate.

In Crewe, Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark and his international workforce rapidly set to work, even because the Felicity Ace nonetheless burned, Rocco stated. Bentley bought 4,212 autos within the Americas in 2021, so 189 represented a major chunk of the model’s enterprise.

“Based mostly on the demand scenario in different components of the world, we had been in a position to instantly seize manufacturing slots,” Rocco stated. Bentley’s international regional administrators rapidly crafted a alternative scheme for the model’s largest market. And international situations elsewhere helped a plan come collectively.

“China stepped up and stated, ‘We’re seeing much less demand; we may help you with some vehicles.’ ” Rocco stated. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Bentley stopped imports of vehicles and components into Russia. “These order slots opened up. So we had been in a position to react and pivot in a short time,” he stated.

The Felicity Ace burned for days as rescue vessels and tugboats poured water on the deserted hulk. On Feb. 25, with the hearth lastly extinguished, the primary salvage crews went aboard in hopes of securing the vessel and getting it towed to a secure harbor.

4 days later, at about 9 a.m. native time March 1, the Felicity Ace, which was closely itemizing to starboard whereas beneath tow, sank in tough waters about 230 miles south of the Azores. It’s believed to relaxation some 2 miles under the floor; the ultimate disposition of its cargo — whether or not it stayed inside the ship or scattered throughout the seafloor — stays unknown.

Hallmark was unavailable to be interviewed for this text. Nevertheless, by March 17, he advised Automotive Information that the model already had a plan to exchange the majority of the sunken Bentaygas, Continentals, Flying Spurs and Mulliner-built coaches inside six months. “We have promised these prospects, and we’re performing some intelligent issues with sellers to maintain [those customers] cellular, which I will not discuss,” Hallmark stated then.

Whereas executives in Crewe and Germany had been coping with getting the burned Bentleys changed, the duty of telling prospects what had occurred to their custom-ordered Bentleys fell to of us resembling Juan Hinestrosa, basic gross sales supervisor of Bentley Miami.

The dealership, a part of Braman Motorcars and positioned only a block off Biscayne Bay, had 20 of the 189 autos aboard awaiting supply to expectant prospects.

Hinestrosa and his gross sales workforce rapidly bought on the cellphone with every buyer, he stated, recalling how the conversations went.

“Hiya, Mr. Buyer. How are you? Have you ever heard the information? What information? In regards to the Felicity Ace. What is the Felicity Ace— Oh, that is the boat that’s on fireplace in the course of the ocean. Actually? Effectively, the information is that your automotive is there,” Hinestrosa stated.

The reactions weren’t indignant, Hinestrosa stated. “It went easily. It was taken very nicely by the purchasers, as a lot as it may be, anyway. No person bought mad. I believe individuals have modified their temper a bit bit after COVID; individuals turned extra understanding.”

It helped, he stated, that the dealership was in a position to talk rapidly about replacements and provides prospects a timeline for once they may lastly present up on the dealership. The dealership additionally gave them an opportunity to vary their order, Hinestrosa stated, with just one buyer opting to pick a special colour.

The most important influence on the dealership was inside. The 20 incoming Bentleys represented a few month’s value of gross sales, so the dealership recast its worker compensation plan to maintain the influence to a minimal on its gross sales pressure, Hinestrosa stated.

Hinestrosa’s boss, Mike Rodriguez, basic supervisor of all of the manufacturers at Braman’s campus in Miami, credit Bentley for not solely changing the vehicles rapidly, however retaining its sellers knowledgeable of its plans even earlier than the Felicity Ace sank. The model and the dealership saved pricing untouched for purchasers, and the final of the 20 sunken autos, a Bentayga First Version, was lastly delivered to its new proprietor final month.

“It was superb as a result of there was full communications always from Bentley, and that meant that we might get on the cellphone and talk straight with our prospects and allow them to know what was occurring,” Rodriguez stated. “We have now nice prospects, however the truth that there was fixed communications, I believe that was the important thing issue that turned what would have been a giant destructive right into a optimistic.”

As a result of the Felicity Ace sank earlier than it may very well be towed again to port, the reason for the blaze is prone to stay formally undetermined. But what occurred to the vessel — which was hauling dozens of Porsche Taycans, Audi E-trons and VW ID4s, in addition to a number of hybridized autos and different cargo — raised the specter of added fireplace threat for shippers hauling battery-electric autos.

“Whereas EVs are inherently secure, they do symbolize a major distinction in threat profile for shippers compared with conventional autos, and transporting them might symbolize an enhanced threat for the maritime trade, at the very least within the close to time period,” wrote Rahul Khanna, international head of marine threat consulting at Allianz International Company & Specialty, an enormous international insurance coverage agency.

Within the wake of the Felicity Ace incident, Khanna says shippers ought to be certain that any EVs being shipped needs to be charged to not more than 50 p.c and that they’re “correctly secured to forestall any shifting throughout transport.” He additionally says it is important that shipboard crews hold shut watch on their cargo, with common inspections and early-detection techniques together with thermal scanners, fuel detectors, warmth and smoke detectors, and closed-circuit TV cameras.

“If the maritime trade is to enhance its incident report associated to the transportation of lithium ion batteries, then all events concerned should perceive the hazards concerned, the commonest causes and the issues related to transporting in commerce,” Khanna stated. “Solely by a concerted effort by stakeholders within the provide chain can the trade hope to scale back the speed of incidents.”