Daijiworld Media Network – Anchorage

Anchorage, Jun 5: In a dramatic mid-sea rescue operation, 22 crew members aboard the cargo ship Morning Midas were safely rescued after a fire broke out on the vessel while it was transporting nearly 3,000 vehicles, including 800 electric vehicles, to Mexico. The incident occurred in the North Pacific Ocean, approximately 490 km southwest of Adak Island in Alaska’s Aleutian chain.

According to Zodiac Maritime, the London-based management company of the vessel, the fire was first detected on Tuesday near the stern of the ship, reportedly originating from the deck loaded with electric vehicles (EVs). The crew promptly initiated emergency firefighting procedures, but their efforts failed to bring the flames under control.

With fire spreading and smoke engulfing the ship, the crew abandoned the vessel and took to a lifeboat. They were later rescued by the merchant ship Cosco Hellas, which was operating nearby. Thankfully, no injuries were reported among the rescued crew.

"We are coordinating closely with emergency responders, and a tug has been deployed for salvage and firefighting operations," Zodiac Maritime said in an official statement. “Our priority remains the safety of our crew and protection of the marine environment.”

The U.S. Coast Guard swiftly dispatched aircrews to Adak and sent a vessel to the location to monitor the situation. As of Wednesday afternoon, smoke was still billowing from the Morning Midas, though the extent of the fire remained unclear.

Rear Admiral Megan Dean, who commands the coast guard’s 17th district, lauded the swift response of nearby vessels, saying, “We are grateful for the selfless actions of the three nearby vessels and especially the Cosco Hellas crew, who helped save 22 lives.”

The 183-metre-long Morning Midas, built in 2006 and sailing under the Liberian flag, had departed from Yantai, China, on May 26, en route to Lazaro Cardenas, a major Pacific port in Mexico.

This incident comes just weeks after a Dutch safety board urged for enhanced safety protocols for ships carrying electric vehicles. The warning follows a 2023 fire on a vessel en route from Germany to Singapore, which also carried thousands of cars, including EVs, and resulted in fatalities.

Authorities are now focused on salvaging the vessel, assessing environmental impact, and determining the cause of the fire—with EV batteries expected to be a central element in the investigation.