An abandoned cargo ship packed with cars is adrift in the Atlantic Ocean after a rapidly-spreading fire on board forced the crew to escape.

The 656 foot-long Felicity Ace roll-on/roll-off car-carrying ship caught fire in the North Atlantic on Wednesday as it carried cargo, including Porsches and Volkswagens, from Emden, Germany to Davisville, Rhode Island. At the time of the fire's outbreak, the ship was sailing 90 nautical miles southwest of Portugal's Azores, according to a statement on Wednesday by the Portuguese Navy.

Related video above: Cargo ship engulfed in flames off US coast back in May 2021

After the fire broke out in the cargo hold, it spread and forced all 22 crew members to abandon ship. According to another statement by the Portuguese Navy, the crew was safely picked up and taken to a local hotel, with the rescue coordinated by the Ponta Delgada Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center. There has been no noticeable source of pollution from the fire, according to the statement.

The ship's owners have arranged for a tow as it continues to burn. Registered to Panama, the Felicity Alice is operated by Japanese shipping line Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL). MOL has not responded to a request for comment.

Porsche confirmed to CNN Business that a number of its cars were among the cargo and that customers with cars on board the burning ship are being contacted by their dealers.

"While it remains too early to confirm what occurred and next steps, we are -- along with our colleagues at Porsche AG -- supporting our customers and our dealers as best we can to find solutions," said Angus Fitton, Vice President of PR at Porsche Cars North America. "We are in contact with the shipping company and the details of the cars on board are now known."

Expectant Porsche owners with cars on board like journalist and host Matt Farah, who said he had a 2022 Porsche Boxster Spyder awaiting delivery, have already started receiving word from dealerships about the status of their vehicles.

"The dealer confirmed that my car, along with at least a dozen other vehicles they were expecting, is on that boat," Farah said. "They had no further information for me beyond confirming my car was on the boat, and said that as soon as Porsche Cars North America has a plan of any kind with how to proceed, that they would share the plans with me."

Volkswagen also has customers awaiting vehicles on the burning cargo ship. "We are aware of an incident involving a third-party cargo ship transporting Volkswagen Group vehicles across the Atlantic. The vessel was on its way to North America," said Dirk Ameer, a Volkswagen spokesperson. "At this time, we are not aware of any injuries. We are in contact with the shipping company to get more information about the incident."

The Felicity Ace can carry over 17,000 metric tons of cargo, according to the Associated Press, with possibly thousands of cars on board. The Portuguese Navy said that as of Thursday, the fire is ongoing, and an ocean patrol vessel remains on site to monitor the abandoned ship.

RYE, N.H. —

After 462 days at sea, a mini boat launched by fifth- and sixth-grade students in Rye, New Hampshire, has been recovered in Norway.

The boat was created by Rye Junior High School students and launched in October 2020 as part of a lesson about the Gulf Stream, wind and waves.

The students, part of the group Educational Passages, named their creation the "Rye Riptides Mini Boat."

On Sunday, the onboard GPS pinged on an island off the coast of Norway, but the mini boat wasn't always easy to track.

"The GPS stopped reporting back in September and everyday since I have been checking, as have the students, and then suddenly on Monday, Jan. 31 a location popped up after four months of quiet," said Educational Passages Executive Director Cassie Stymiest.

The mini boat was found on an uninhabited island near Somola, Norway. A post was made in a Norway community Facebook group and a family found it and retrieved it.

The boat was taken to a local school in Norway, where students opened it up to find all of the notes and trinkets in perfect condition inside.

Former Rye Junior High teacher Sheila Adams said some of the items the students included were a facemask signed by the students, autumn leaves, and coins.

Adams recently retired before the boat was found.

"There was one piece missing when I retired and that was the conclusion of the boat, so now I am all set," Adams said.

On Thursday, students at Rye Junior High School will meet their counterparts in Norway through a virtual discussion.

Upstate New York is digging out from another round of lake-effect snow as the east coast prepares for a potential nor'easter this week.

Meteorologists have been warning residents to prepare because the system is taking shape and it's zeroing in on the Atlantic coast. The storm is expected to form off the coast in the Atlantic Ocean but, the jet stream will determine if any major cities, from Philadelphia to New York, will see snow.

If the upstream flow current is inland, the heaviest snow will hit New York City. However, if it slides closer to the coast, then the big snowfall will hit Boston.

The storm is expected to begin Friday and last through Saturday night.

This story was originally published by Scott Withers of Newsy.

A message in a bottle that was sent from Rhode Island a few years ago traveled more than 3,200 miles across the Atlantic Ocean and was picked up in Portugal.The person who found the bottle, Christian Santos, says he and his family used to live in Boston before they moved to the Azores, an archipelago off the Portuguese mainland, 10 years ago."Last Friday, I was spearfishing and I found the bottle," Santos said. "I got it, went out (of the water) and opened it, and there was this paper in it."Santos brought the message home, read it and then showed it to his mom. The message reads: "It is Thanksgiving. I am 13 and visiting family in Rhode Island. I am from Vermont. If found email ."Santos says he sent an email to the address provided in the note, but he hasn't received a reply back yet."I would like to tell them I found it, where it was and what I was doing, and we're going to be friends for life," he said.Based on the email address given, the message was likely written around Thanksgiving 2018.Sister station WCVB sent an email to the address provided in the note, but like Santos, has yet to receive a reply back.