A ship carrying vehicles to Mexico continues to burn several days after fire engulfed the vessel earlier this week. Crew members of the Morning Midas abandoned the ship after firefighting efforts failed, with the car hauler left floating adrift in waters off the coast of the Aleutian Islands near Alaska.
The ship, built in 2006, was traveling from Yantai, China to Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico, with 3,048 vehicles on board. 70 of these were full electric vehicles, and 681 were hybrids, according to reports from the US Coast Guard. The cause of the fire is not yet clear, but it began in an area of the ship that was storing EVs.
“Smoke was initially seen emanating from a deck carrying electric vehicles,” stated Zodiac Maritime, the UK-based operator of the Liberian-flagged vessel. “The crew immediately initiated emergency firefighting procedures using the vessel’s onboard fire-suppression systems. However, despite their efforts, the situation could not be brought under control.”
With the crew unable to quash the flames, the decision was made to abandon the ship via lifeboat. All 22 crew were able to safely leave the vessel with no injuries reported. Crew members were later able to transfer to the Cosco Hellas, a merchant container ship passing the area. US Coast Guard Cutter Munro diverted to the area to assist, with a C-130J Super Hercules also deployed to the area from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak.
There remain concerns around the impact of the incident on the immediate area. “Our priorities are to ensure the continued safety of the crew and protect the marine environment,” stated Zodiac Maritime. Reports are that the vessel had 350 metric tons of gas fuel and 1530 metric tons of very low-sulfur fuel oil on board. As yet, no release to the environment has been observed.
The most up-to-date reports from Zodiac Marine on Thursday indicate that the vessel remains afloat and likely on fire, with smoke still pouring from the vessel during recent overflights. As reported by Marine Log, the ship’s operator has tapped Resolve Marine to deploy tugs and salvage specialists to the stricken vessel to deal with the matter. These teams are expected to arrive in the area on June 9. The ship is still being monitored remotely via satellite connection to on-board systems.
This incident has once again put the media spotlight on the issue of EV transport. Concerns loom large around the intensity of EV battery fires and the difficulty extinguishing them. Similar issues were raised when the Felicity Ace burned and sank in 2022, and again with the Fremantle Highway in 2023. In many of these cases, EVs were blamed or suspected as the cause of the fire. However, as with this current situation, definitive evidence that an electric vehicle sparked the fire has not been discovered..
In any case, the best news regarding the Morning Midas is that the crew was able to evacuate and all were rescued safely. It will be some time before the ship is dealt with by salvage crews. Until then, it sits as a smoking reminder of how dangerous fire can be at sea.
Image credits: US Coast Guard
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