A fleet of supercars were engulfed by flames after a 'ghost ship' caught fire while transporting them across the Atlantic Ocean.
The 650ft long vessel was ablaze near the Azores islands with the 1,300 supercars, worth an estimated £120 million, onboard.
Lifeboats reportedly raced to the burning boat on Wednesday morning with 22 crew members safely evacuated.
Pictures show smoke billowing from the ship after the fire was reported on one of its cargo decks.
The expensive inventory was thought to include 4,000 cars in total including 1,100 Porsches and 189 Bentleys as it made its way from Germany to the US.
No crew members were injured as they abandoned the ship and were taken to the nearby Portuguese island of Faial, authorities said.
The total damage to the vessel and its pricey cargo is unknown.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.
Crew had set sail from Emden in Germany last Thursday and were headed for the US port of Davisville in Rhode Island.
They were expected to arrive on February 23.
Aircraft from the Portuguese Air Force were drafted in to help in the rescue mission along with a patrol boat and four merchant vessels.
Porsche customers had been allegedly told that they could track their purchases via live updates on the 'Track Your Dream' portal online.
But the website later explained that an incident had occurred "on the Felicity Ace carrying certain Porsche vehicles."
A Porsche spokesperson told the Sun Online that the ship was carrying 1,100 of its cars but that it is not known what state the vehicles are left in.
They added: "Our immediate thoughts are of the 22 crew of the merchant ship Felicity Ace, all of whom we understand are safe and well as a result of their rescue by the Portuguese Navy following reports of a fire on board."
The Felicity Ace vessel is often used to transport expensive cars such as Porsche, Audi, Volkswagen and Lamborghini.
YouTuber Matt Farah was one of the unlucky customers whose new car was on the burning vessel.
He tweeted: "I just got the call from my dealer. My car is now adrift, possibly on fire, in the middle of the ocean."
A spokesperson for Volkswagen said the company is "aware of an incident involving a third-party cargo ship transporting Volkswagen Group vehicles across the Atlantic."
They added: "The vessel was on its way to North America. All crew members have been rescued and are safe. We are in contact with the shipping company to get more information about the incident.”
