A cargo ship with over a thousand Porche and Volkswagen vehicles caught on fire in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

On Tuesday, February 16, the incident forced all 22 crew members to evacuate and leave the cargo ship burning in the middle of the ocean. The vessel named Felicity Ace caught on fire 90 nautical miles southwest of Faial island in Portugal's Azores region.

The reports state that the cargo shipped 4,000 Volkswagen vehicles and around 1000 Porches. The 200-meter-long ship set sail from Emden, Germany, and was on its way to Davisville, Rhode Island, US.

Not long after starting the trip, the crew issued an alarm.

Porsche confirmed the incident, and the company issued a statement:

"We are aware of an incident aboard the Felicity Ace, a specialized cargo ship carrying certain Porsche vehicles. Your dealership will provide you with additional information on how this impacts you as soon as we have additional information and know the full scope of the issue."

Volkswagen also confirmed the incident, as Business Insider wrote:

"We are aware of an incident today involving a cargo ship transporting Volkswagen Group vehicles across the Atlantic. At this time, we are not aware of any injuries. We are working with local authorities and the shipping company to investigate the cause of the incident."

YouTuber Matt Farah spoke about the incident as he potentially lost his car on the ship. He wrote on Twitter that he got a "call from [his] dealer."

The Guardian reports that 1100 Porche vehicles were on board. The company stated that all affected would be contacted.

Associated Press reported that the crew members had been taken to hotels approximately 100 miles away from the ship in Azores' Faial Island.

The Portuguese Navy patrol boat and four merchant ships assist in the operation, while the Portuguese air force is also mobilized.

It is still unknown what caused the fire.