. On 10 March 2019,
Grande America caught fire while travelling the Atlantic Ocean between France and Spain on its route from
Hamburg (Germany) to
Casablanca (Morocco), and sank into the
Bay of Biscay on 12 March. The 27 people on board were rescued by the
Royal Navy ship after they abandoned ship on 11 March. After their lifeboat's engine broke down entering the water, a Royal Navy sea boat towed it to safety in a
swell.
Leading Seaman David Groves, the sea boat
coxswain, was later awarded the
Queen's Gallantry Medal for his bravery in the rescue.
Oil spill An
oil spill of about in length and in width began moving towards the French coast line, threatening the areas around
La Rochelle,
Biarritz and
Vendée. The ship was carrying 365 containers, of which 45 contained material deemed to be hazardous, including 10 tonnes of
hydrochloric acid and 70 tonnes of
sulfuric acid.
Cargo The ship contained dozens of vehicles that were to be delivered to Brazil, including 37
Porsches. Four of these were Porsche's last units of the 911 GT2 RS, which went out of production in February 2019. The sinking led to Porsche reactivating the production line for the
Porsche 911 GT2 RS, so that these four last units could be delivered to their owners in Brazil. The ship was also transporting dozens of
Audi cars, including
RS4 and RS5 models.
Wreck The wreck was located by
Island Pride (a vessel leased to
Ocean Infinity). It arrived 30 March and started inspecting the wreck site using
remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs). The ROVs were used to seal light leaks of oil discovered during the inspection. ==See also==