Rescue crew heads to cargo ship fire in waters off Alaska's Aleutian islands
A salvage crew is expected to reach the site early next week where a cargo ship transporting roughly 3,000 vehicles to Mexico caught fire off the coast of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.
The tugboat, carrying specialized equipment and salvage experts, is scheduled to arrive near the Morning Midas by Monday, according to a statement from the ship’s management company, Zodiac Maritime, based in London. Once on site, the team will evaluate the vessel’s condition. A second tug equipped for firefighting and ocean towing is also being arranged, the company added. Until then, officials are monitoring the ship via onboard satellite systems, News.az reports citing CBS News.com.
As of Thursday morning, the Morning Midas was still afloat, with Coast Guard images showing the vessel emitting smoke and continuing to burn.
The U.S. Coast Guard reported receiving a distress signal at approximately 3:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday, indicating a fire aboard the ship, which was then located about 300 miles (490 kilometers) southwest of Adak Island. Preliminary information indicates the vessel was carrying around 70 fully electric vehicles and approximately 680 hybrids.
All 22 Morning Midas crew members were uninjured. They were evacuated onto a lifeboat and a nearby merchant vessel rescued them. They remained onboard the rescue vessel Thursday, according to Zodiac Maritime.
The 600-foot (183-meter) Morning Midas was built in 2006 and sails under a Liberian flag. The car and truck carrier left Yantai, China, on May 26, according to the industry site marinetraffic.com. It was headed to a major Pacific port in Mexico.
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.
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