A mammoth cargo ship that departed from Emden, Germany, carrying up to 4,000 vehicles, caught fire on February 16, about 253 miles off the Azores. According to the New York Times, the 650-feet-long Felicity Ace remained aflame and billowed smoke, adrift off the shore of Western Europe, where it sank on March 1 at approximately 9 AM. The ship's 22 crew members were airlifted to safety.

Among the hundreds of vehicles on board were 1,000 Porsches and 200 Bentleys. In addition, Gengras Volkswagen in Plainsville, Connecticut, had two cars on the ship special ordered by customers from the manufacturer.

Imagine ordering a Lamborghini and then finding out it was two miles beneath the Atlantic Ocean. What's worse, losing your brand new luxury car to a fire or learning your wife slept with your brother?! In most cases, the now waterlogged vehicles were insured and replaced. However, the Wall Street Journal reported that the total estimated loss for all cargo is close to $440 million.

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As a large salvage tugboat began towing the Felicity Ace to "a safe area" off the Azores, the gargantuan ship became unstable, which caused it to sink. Check this out, taken from video footage inside the rescue helicopter.

The real tragedy was environmental because the ship carried 2,200 tons of fuel and 2,200 tons of oil. The Navy said that Portuguese and European ecological officials were monitoring the area in a statement.

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