ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A freighter tasked with transporting new automobiles to Mexico has sunk in the North Pacific Ocean after its crew was forced to abandon it weeks prior, following an onboard fire that rendered the vessel non-operational.
According to a release from Zodiac Maritime, a ship management firm based in London, the Morning Midas submerged in international waters in the vicinity of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands on Monday.
Petty Officer Cameron Snell from the U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska reassured the public by confirming, “There is no visible pollution.” He also highlighted that there are vessels presently on site ready to address any potential pollution threats.
The carrier was overwhelmed by a combination of fire damage, adverse weather, and water ingress, resulting in its sinking at a depth of approximately 16,404 feet (5,000 meters), around 415 miles (770 kilometers) away from the nearest landmass.
Loaded with about 3,000 new vehicles destined for a principal Pacific port in Mexico, there is no immediate information on whether any cars had been salvaged prior to the sinking. Zodiac Maritime has remained silent on this matter as of Tuesday.
Rescue operations were undertaken soon after a fire impaired the ship, but the salvage team found vehicles still on board. Two salvage tugs fortified with pollution control hardware will continue to monitor for any evidence of pollution or debris, ensuring a careful watch is kept. When the Morning Midas went down, the crew members of these two vessels remained unharmed.
Zodiac Maritime is enhancing its environmental protection measures by dispatching an additional specialized pollution control vessel to the area.
The Coast Guard received an alert on June 3 regarding the fire aboard the Morning Midas, at that time roughly 300 miles (490 kilometers) away from Adak Island.
All 22 crew members, onboard during the incident, were evacuated onto a lifeboat and subsequently rescued by a merchant marine vessel nearby. Thankfully, there were no reported injuries.
The cargo consisted of about 70 fully electric along with approximately 680 hybrid vehicles. Initially, a substantial smoke plume was observed emanating from the ship’s stern, which housed the electric vehicles, as acknowledged by the Coast Guard and Zodiac Maritime at the moment.
Located about 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometers) west of Anchorage, Adak is an integral part of Alaska’s geographical makeup.
The Morning Midas, constructed in 2006, is a 600-foot (183-meter) vehicle carrier navigating under a Liberian flag. It commenced its journey from Yantai, China, on May 26, aiming for Mexico as its final destination according to maritime tracking data.
A recent report from a Dutch safety board emphasized the need for enhanced emergency response capabilities on North Sea shipping pathways following a severe fire in 2023 on a freighter. This freighter, transporting 3,000 automobiles, including nearly 500 electric vehicles, from Germany to Singapore, saw one fatality and several injuries sustained during the blaze, which raged uncontrollably for a week before the vessel was towed to the Netherlands for salvage.