A ro/ro cargo ship with more than 3,000 vehicles on board – including 70 electric and 681 hybrid power cars – continued to burn 300 miles south of Adak, Alaska, after a fire broke out on a deck with electric vehicles June 3, Coast Guard officials reported Wednesday.
Watchstanders at the 17th Coast Guard District command center received a distress alert Tuesday around 3:15 p.m. reporting the fire aboard the 600’ Morning Midas, a Liberian-flagged and U.K. managed cargo vessel with 22 crew members on board.
The watchstanders immediately issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast requesting assistance from vessels in the vicinity of the Morning Midas and three good Samaritan vessels responded to the incident.
The Coast Guard cutter Munro diverted to the area, as a C-130J Super Hercules aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, and an MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter aircrew in Adak launched.
All 22 crew members aboard the Morning Midas evacuated the ship aboard a lifeboat and were subsequently rescued by the crew of motor vessel Cosco Hellas, with no reported injuries. Coast Guard officials said status of the fire is currently unknown, but they did not know the fire situation on the Morning Midas but smoke continued to issue from the vessel.
“As the search and rescue portion of our response concludes, our crews are working closely with the vessel’s manager, Zodiac Maritime, to determine the disposition of the vessel,” said Rear Adm.Megan Dean, commander of the Coast Guard’s 17th District. “We are grateful for the selfless actions of the three nearby vessels who assisted in the response and the crew of motor vessel Cosco Hellas, who helped save 22 lives.”
The potential fire hazards of lithium-ion batteries at sea have been under increasing scrutiny since a February 2022 fire on the vessel Felicity Ace, which was carrying 4,000 cars from Germany to the United States when it caught fire and burned for 13 days, with the crew safely evacuated.
In late December 2023 the 410’ cargo vessel Genius Star XI and its cargo of lithium-ion batteries had to anchor near Dutch Harbor, Alaska, during its voyage from Vietnam to San Diego, Calif., after fire broke out Dec. 28. The crew of the Panama-flagged ship flooded the cargo department with carbon dioxide suppressant and called the Coast Guard, who told them to divert to Dutch Harbor.
The Morning Midas is estimated to have approximately 350 metric tons of gas fuel and 1,530 metric tons of very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) onboard. They are also reportedly carrying a total of 3,048 vehicles, with 70 being fully electric vehicles and 681 being partial hybrid electric vehicles. The Coast Guard was working with Morning Midas management at Zodiac Maritime to coordinate recovery efforts of the vessel
