Cargo ship carrying new vehicles sinks in North Pacific weeks after catching fire

The Associated Press

· Posted: Jun 24, 2025 5:38 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

A cargo vessel that had been delivering caller vehicles to Mexico sank successful the North Pacific Ocean, weeks aft unit members abandoned vessel erstwhile they couldn't extinguish an onboard occurrence that near the bearer dormant successful the water.

The Morning Midas sank Monday successful planetary h2o disconnected Alaska's Aleutian Islands chain, the ship's absorption company, London-based Zodiac Maritime, said successful a statement.

"There is nary disposable pollution," said Petty Officer Cameron Snell, an Alaska-based U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson.

"Right present we besides person vessels connected country to respond to immoderate pollution."

Fire harm compounded by atrocious upwind and h2o seepage caused the bearer to descend successful waters astir 5,000 metres deep and astir 770 kilometers from land, the connection said.

The vessel was loaded with astir 3,000 caller vehicles intended for a large Pacific larboard successful Mexico. It was not instantly wide if immoderate of the cars were removed earlier it sank, and Zodiac Maritime did not instantly respond to messages Tuesday.

A salvage unit arrived days aft the occurrence disabled the vehicle.

Two salvage tugs containing contamination power instrumentality volition stay connected country to show for immoderate signs of contamination oregon debris, the institution said. The unit members of those 2 ships were not injured erstwhile the Morning Midas sank.

Zodiac Maritime said it is besides sending different specialized contamination effect vas to the determination arsenic an added precaution.

The Coast Guard said it received a distress alert June 3 astir a occurrence aboard the Morning Midas, which past was astir 490 kilometres southwest of Adak Island.

There were 22 unit members onboard the Morning Midas. All evacuated to a lifeboat and were rescued by a adjacent merchant marine vessel. There were nary injuries.

Among the cars were astir 70 afloat electrical and astir 680 hybrid vehicles. A ample plume of fume was initially seen astatine the ship's stern coming from the platform loaded with electrical vehicles, the Coast Guard and Zodiac Maritime said astatine the time.

Adak is astir 1,930 kilometers west of Anchorage, Alaska's largest city.

The 183-metre Morning Midas was built successful 2006 and sails nether a Liberian flag. The car and motortruck bearer near Yantai, China, connected May 26 en way to Mexico, according to the manufacture tract marinetraffic.com.

A Dutch information committee successful a caller study called for improving exigency effect connected North Sea shipping routes aft a deadly 2023 occurrence aboard a freighter that was carrying 3,000 automobiles, including astir 500 electrical vehicles, from Germany to Singapore.

One idiosyncratic was killed and others injured successful the fire, which burned retired of power for a week. That vessel was yet towed to a Netherlands larboard for salvage.