A salvage team is poised to arrive early next week to address a cargo vessel that caught fire while carrying about 3,000 vehicles destined for Mexico in the waters off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.
The vessel management company, Zodiac Maritime, headquartered in London, confirmed that a tugboat equipped with salvage experts and specialized gear is likely to reach the site of the Morning Midas by Monday. Upon arrival, they will evaluate the ship’s condition, and measures are in place for another tug with firefighting and ocean towing capabilities, according to the company’s announcement. Until then, authorities are keeping tabs on the ship using its onboard satellite-connected systems.
As of Thursday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard’s images revealed the Morning Midas still afloat with smoke visibly emanating.
The Coast Guard noted receiving a distress signal at around 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday, regarding the fire that had broken out on the Morning Midas, located about 300 miles southwest of Adak Island. The vessel was reported to be carrying approximately 70 electric vehicles and around 680 hybrids, though this data was described as preliminary.
Adak sits approximately 1,200 miles from Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska.
Fortunately, the 22 crew members aboard the Morning Midas emerged unscathed, having successfully evacuated onto a lifeboat and subsequently rescued by a nearby merchant ship. They remained on this vessel as of Thursday, as per Zodiac Maritime’s statement.
Constructed in 2006, the 600-foot Morning Midas operates under a Liberian flag and departed from Yantai, China, on May 26. The vessel was en route to a significant Pacific port in Mexico.
In a related development, a Dutch safety board recently urged enhancements in emergency responses along North Sea shipping lanes, following a tragic 2023 fire on a freighter carrying 3,000 vehicles, including nearly 500 electric ones, from Germany to Singapore. That incident resulted in one fatality and additional injuries, and the ship was ultimately salvaged at a port in the Netherlands.