Cargo ship carrying electric cars catches fire near Alaska

In the waters outside Alaska’s Aleutian Island chain, a cargo ship caught fire after setting sail from Yantai, China, on May 26 to transport automobiles to Lazaro Cardenas, a major Pacific port in Mexico. 3,000 vehicles, including 800 electric vehicles, were being transported by the Morning Midas, a truck and car carrier that is 600 feet (183 meters) long. In the North Pacific, some 300 miles (490 kilometers) southwest of Adak Island, the crew of a neighboring merchant vessel called the Cosco Hellas rescued the 22 crew members who had abandoned the Morning Midas when it caught fire and saved them aboard a lifeboat.

US Coast Guard photos and statement from the ship’s management company, Zodiac Maritime, highlighted that a large plume of smoke was initially seen at the ship’s stern coming from the deck loaded with electric vehicles. While the crew had initially started the emergency firefighting procedures with the ship’s onboard fire suppression system, they were not able to bring the flames under control. The Coast Guards said that the status of the fire onboard the ship was not known, but the smoke was still emanating from the Morning Midas.

The search and rescue part of the response had concluded and now the Coast Guard was working with Zodiac Maritime to figure out how to recover the ship and what will be done with it.