Ernie Boch Jr. has a luxury car on the burning cargo ship, says fire is ‘devastating’ for industry
“If you hear five to eight cars might be on that ship, that’s a very large percentage of cars that we would have available to sell,” one Massachusetts car dealer said.
Count Ernie Boch Jr. among the local car buyers with a new vehicle onboard the burning transport ship off the coast of Portugal’s Azores Islands.
Boch, the chief executive of Subaru of New England and local philanthropist, told WCVB on Sunday a Bentley he purchased is on the ill-fated cargo hauler that was bound for Rhode Island.
A fire on the 650-foot-long Felicity Ace broke out on Wednesday. The ship’s crew members were transported off the vessel without injuries.
The transport can typically carry over 18,700 tons of cargo, with enough space to fit thousands of vehicles.
At the time of the fire, the Felicity Ace was carrying vehicles produced by the German automaker Volkswagen Group.
According to The Boston Globe, the ship contains 3,965 vehicles, which include Audis, Lamborghinis, Porsches, and nearly 200 Bentleys.
The ship was due to dock at Davisville in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.
The fire comes as car dealers have been strained for inventory amid supply chain shortages over the past year, leading to high demand and already long waits for shipments for buyers.
“To lose all those cars is devastating to the industry,” Boch told WCVB. “They were all sold, by the way, because right now, cars are so in-demand that when they’ve manufactured and they come off the line, they’re sold.”
John Kennedy, regional vice president of operations for the McGovern Automotive Group, told the Globe he believes there are about five to eight vehicles onboard the Felicity Ace that were supposed to arrive at the company’s Audi dealership in Shrewsbury.
The dealership would usually have between 175 and 200 vehicles on the lot, but lately, a good day would be having two dozen available, Kennedy said.
“If you hear five to eight cars might be on that ship, that’s a very large percentage of cars that we would have available to sell,” he said.
Some of Kennedy’s customers have called asking about their cars, but he told the newspaper he has little details to share with them.
“We don’t know anything yet about whether there were vehicles that were burned,” he said. “But if 4,000 cars were headed for New England, and if all of those were to be lost, I think the impact would be devastating.”
Ray Ciccolo, president of Village Automotive Group in Boston, expected to receive over 20 Porsches and Audis when the Felicity Ace came into port in New England.
Now, Ciccolo expects to have at least 20 tough conversations with customers, he told the Globe.
“We have to be honest with them and tell them, ‘You know that car we said was coming? Well, it’s not coming,’” he said.
The incident will likely have a short-term impact on his company’s finances, Ciccolo said. Still, he hopes to recoup losses when manufacturers ship replacement orders.
“Customers have already been waiting so long,” he said. “We’re hoping that they will be willing to wait a little while longer.”
MOL Ship Management, which operates the Felicity Ace, said Friday salvage crews were heading to the ship to assess the damage, according to the Globe.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.