Cargo ship carrying 3,000 new vehicles sinks off Alaska weeks after catching fire

CBS News

3 days ago

A cargo ship that had been delivering new vehicles to Mexico sank in the North Pacific Ocean, weeks after crew members abandoned ship when they couldn't extinguish an onboard fire that left the carrier dead in the water.
The Morning Midas sank Monday in international water off Alaska's Aleutian Islands chain, the ship's management company, London-based Zodiac Maritime, said in a statement.
"There is no visible pollution," said Petty Officer Cameron Snell, an Alaska-based U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson. "Right now we also have vessels on scene to respond to any pollution."
The Coast Guard said that the vessel reportedly had 350 metric tons of marine gas oil and 1,530 metric tons of very low sulfur fuel oil onboard.
In this photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, smoke rises from cargo vessel Morning Midas approximately 300 miles south of Adak, Alaska, June 3, 2025, as the crew of a cargo ship carrying about 3,000 vehicles to Mexico, abandoned ship after they could not control a fire. (U.S. Coast Guard/Courtesy of Air Station Kodiak via AP)
/ AP
Fire damage compounded by bad weather and water seepage caused the carrier to sink in waters about 16,400 feet deep and about 415 miles from land, the statement said.
The ship was loaded with about 3,000 new vehicles intended for a major Pacific port in Mexico. It was not immediately clear if any of the cars were removed before it sank, and Zodiac Maritime did not immediately respond to messages Tuesday.
A salvage crew arrived days after the fire disabled the vehicle.
Two salvage tugs containing pollution control equipment will remain on scene to monitor for any signs of pollution or debris, the company said. The crew members of those two ships were not injured when the Morning Midas sank.
"The safety of the responders remains our top priority," Capt. Christopher Culpepper, the commander of Coast Guard Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic, said in a statement. "We're working closely with Zodiac Maritime in an advisory capacity to ensure a swift and effective response to any potential signs of pollution."
Zodiac Maritime said it is also sending another specialized pollution response vessel to the location as an added precaution.
The Coast Guard said it received a distress alert June 3 about a fire aboard the Morning Midas, which then was roughly 300 miles southwest of Adak Island.
There were 22 crew members onboard the Morning Midas. All evacuated to a lifeboat and were rescued by a nearby merchant marine vessel. There were no injuries.
Among the cars were about 70 fully electric and about 680 hybrid vehicles. A large plume of smoke was initially seen at the ship's stern coming from the deck loaded with electric vehicles, the Coast Guard and Zodiac Maritime said at the time.
Adak is about 1,200 miles west of Anchorage, Alaska's largest city.
The 600-foot Morning Midas was built in 2006 and sails under a Liberian flag. The car and truck carrier left Yantai, China, on May 26 en route to Mexico, according to the industry site marinetraffic.com.
A Dutch safety board in a recent report called for improving emergency response on North Sea shipping routes after a deadly 2023 fire aboard a freighter that was carrying 3,000 automobiles, including nearly 500 electric vehicles, from Germany to Singapore.
One person was killed and others injured in the fire, which burned out of control for a week. That ship was eventually towed to a Netherlands port for salvage.