FOUR DAYS COUNTING:Abandoned RORO Vessel, MV. Morning Midas Still Burning With 3,048 Cars Onboard

In an update on 5 June Zodiac, managers of the Morning Midas, said that based on the most recent images from a US Coast Guard overflight the vessel remained afloat with smoke continuing to pour from inside the car carrier.

Zodiac has appointed Salvors Resolve Marine to respond to the fire from the vessel. However, with the Morning Midas located 300 nautical miles southwest of Adak island off Alaska it will take several days for salvage tugs to reach the stricken vessel.

”A first tug carrying a team of salvage specialists and specialised equipment has already been mobilised and is expected to arrive at the scene on approximately 9 June. There it will assess the vessel’s condition and provide necessary support. An additional fire-fighting tug, capable of ocean towage, is also being arranged to provide further support,” Zodiac said.

In the meantime the managers will continue to monitor the abandoned vessel via onboard systems that remain connected to satellite tracking, however, they said ability to monitor onboard conditions would be limited.

Fire broke out on the Liberian-registered, 2006-built, Morning Midas at around 00:00 hrs UTC, or 2pm local time, on 3 June. Zodiac praised the actions of its crew in attempting to the fight the fire and deploying the vessel’s onboard suppression systems, which it stressed were “fully operational”.

“Due to the intensity of the fire and to prioritise crew safety, the decision was made to abandon the vessel,” Zodiac said. The crew were evacuated into two lifeboats and rescue by the nearby vessel Cosco Hellas. “We are grateful to the crew of the Cosco Hellas for their swift assistance,” Zodiac said.

The Morning Midas is carrying a cargo of 3,048 cars, of which 70 are fully electric and 861 are hybrids. An earlier statement from Zodiac said the fire emanated from a deck carrying EVs.

The Morning Midas was enroute to Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico at the time of the incident.

Fires on car carriers and containerships from lithium-ion batteries are growing concern to the industry and insurers due to the difficulty in bringing them under control.