The US Coast Guard responded Wednesday to a cargo vessel fire approximately 300 miles south of Adak, following a distress call from the 600-foot Liberian-flagged ship Morning Midas, which had reported a fire on board and carried a crew of 22 and a cargo of thousands of vehicles.
The distress signal was received Tuesday at about 3:15 pm by watchstanders at the Coast Guard’s Seventeenth District command center. The vessel, owned by Zodiac Maritime, was en route through the North Pacific Ocean when the fire broke out.
In response, the Coast Guard issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast, prompting three nearby vessels to assist. One of those, the motor vessel Cosco Hellas, successfully rescued all 22 crew members from a life raft launched by the Morning Midas. No injuries were reported.
The Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) was diverted to the scene, while a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft was launched from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, and an MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter aircrew was staged in Adak to assist in the response.
The status of the fire aboard the Morning Midas remains unclear, but officials report that smoke continues to be seen rising from the vessel.
Rear Admiral Megan Dean, commander of the Coast Guard’s Seventeenth District, praised the coordinated effort:
“As the search and rescue portion of our response concludes, our crews are working closely with the vessel’s parent company, Zodiac Maritime, to determine the disposition of the vessel. We are grateful for the selfless actions of the three nearby vessels who assisted in the response and the crew of motor vessel Cosco Hellas, who helped save 22 lives.”
According to information provided to the Coast Guard, the Morning Midas is carrying approximately 350 metric tons of gas fuel and 1,530 metric tons of very low sulfur fuel oil. The vessel’s cargo reportedly includes 3,159 vehicles, among them 65 fully electric and 681 hybrid-electric vehicles. These figures are preliminary and subject to change as more details become available.
The Coast Guard is actively working with Zodiac Maritime to assess the vessel’s condition and plan a recovery operation.
The situation remains under observation as the Coast Guard continues to monitor the potential environmental risks posed by the fuel and vehicle cargo aboard the drifting vessel.
Gambling bet: with that number of EV’s onboard subject to the recorded number of battery caused fires, it doesn’t take much to place the cause on them
Electric vehicles don’t do well on car carriers. How many is this now? Eight?
Don’t worry everyone, there are zero or low emission vehicles burning so they won’t impact the environment at all. And water doesn’t help with metal fires, it actually makes the problem worse so allowing it to burn the ship to the waterline is really the only course of action. Clean, green energy at work.
Liberian flagged, carrying toxic materials close to Adak?
Strategic deep port and in the news lately?
You don’t say.
Carrying 600 vehicles? Name me one Liberian Company that manufactures vehicles…..I’ll Wait. Answer is ZERO. Better look at that cargo.
You’re living proof that a Little Knowledge is a dangerous thing.
It is quite common in the maritime trade to flag your vessel to the nation of least taxes and regulations. Hence, there are probably more Liberian-flagged vessels than any other. It is quite likely that this ship never once called on a Liberian port.
I’m seeing that it was 3000 vehicles. How many of those are (were) EV is unknown to me, and even the 3000 number may be an error.
However, no, the flag has little or nothing to do with ownership, ports of call, home ports, cargo carried, or crew. It’s simply cheaper and easier to use Liberia than it is to use others.
Are the vehicles made in China? EVs with huge lithium batteries are known to explode and burn without a trigger. If cars were made in China …
let it burn and sink.
Well, Anyone that has orderd a new car, just maybe you’ll maybe be waiting abit longer uh?..Then?…just maybe not..
Hmmmm, Lithium batteries, imagine that.
Yep. Just like those in your phone, your computer, your car, your power tools and lawn equipment, and in the Boeing and Airbus airplanes you fly around in.
I knew electric cars were gonna be involved.
We should all go EV!
What could go wrong?
Got one and love it. Gasoline burns as well, you know. And by the way, your life is full of Lithium ion batteries. Just look around. Sure they’re smaller, but fires escalate all the same.
Just remember if you had one those electric vehicle it could have been your garage, hopefully detached, rather than a car carrier.