Fire Dies Down on Ship Carrying Porsches, Audis and Bentleys, with Little Left to Burn
A fire which swept through a cargo ship carrying thousands of luxury cars and adrift off the coast of Portugal's Azores islands has lost its intensity, probably because there is little left to burn, a port official said.The Felicity Ace, carrying around 4,000 vehicles including Porsches, Audis and Bentleys, some electric with lithium-ion batteries, caught fire in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday.The 22 crew members on board were evacuated the same day. "The fire has subsided in recent hours…
Passengers Depart COVID-hit Cruise Ship After 5 Days Stuck in Lisbon
Disconsolate passengers stuck on a cruise ship moored in Lisbon's port for five days due to a COVID-19 outbreak began disembarking early on Monday, focused on clearing the final hurdle of a negative test before boarding homebound flights.The AIDAnova, carrying 2,844 passengers and 1,353 crew, had docked in Portugal's capital on Wednesday.The ship was en route to the island of Madeira for New Year's Eve celebrations, but its German operator decided to cut the cruise short after COVID-19 was detected among what it said was a fully vaccinated crew…
Norway Gift Ocean Survey Ship 'Noruega' to Portugal
Portugal’s new oceanographic survey vessel is to be donated by Norway and equipped by funding under the EEA Grants programme. The announcement was made recently by Portugal's Assunção Cristas, Minister for Agriculture, the Sea, the Environment and Land Planning. Speaking at the launch of the EEA Grants programme, Minister Cristas explained that this was a better solution than had originally been foreseen for replacing the current vessel the ‘Noruega’, that is coming to the end of its operational life. “At this moment, Norway has a proposal on the table that means we get one of their vessels that is being replaced and that would prove excellent for Portugal and the programme funding would serve to equip the vessel,” said Cristas.
