The Morning Midas car carrier, carrying 3,000 Chinese cars, has sunk in international waters in the North Pacific.
According to a statement released by ship management company Zodiac Maritime, Morning Midas sank at 16:35 local time (UTC-9) on June 23 at a depth of about 5,000 meters and 360 nautical miles from land due to damage caused by fire, bad weather and water ingress. It is not clear whether any vehicles were unloaded before the sinking.
It is reported that the “Morning Midas” was carrying approximately 350 tons of gasoline fuel and 1,530 tons of ultra-low sulfur fuel oil at the time of the incident. The U.S. Coast Guard stated: “No significant pollution has been detected at this time, and salvage tugs have been dispatched to the scene to address any potential pollution.”
As a precaution, two salvage tugs equipped with pollution control equipment, the Garth Foss and the Salvage Worker, remain at the scene to monitor for any signs of pollution or debris.
To further respond to emergencies, the salvage team will also dispatch another professional pollution response salvage tug, the Endeavour, to the scene, which is equipped with pollution emergency equipment such as oil spill containment and recovery systems.
The major marine fire accident began on June 3 when the Morning Midas caught fire about 300 miles south of Adak, Alaska. Smoke was initially found in the deck area where electric vehicles were loaded. The firefighting system on board failed to control the fire. The 22 crew members evacuated safely after failing to extinguish the fire. On the day of the incident, the shipowner announced the abandonment of the vessel.
According to previously released photos taken at the scene, the hull of the Morning Midas was almost completely burned, and a few days after the incident, the vessel began to show signs of tilting at the stern.
On June 9, the first tugboat “Gretchen Dunlap” carrying a rescue team and special equipment arrived at the scene of the accident. The vessel was still burning at this time; on June 11, the towline of the accident vessel was connected to the tugboat; on June 16, the second salvage vessel “Gretchen Foss” arrived. At that time, thermal imaging scans and visual inspections did not find any active fire sources onboard.
Public information shows that the “Morning Midas” was built in 2006 at Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry, with a length of about 183 meters. It is a Liberian-flagged PCTC (pure car and track carrier) that can carry 4,902 vehicles. The vessel set sail from Yantai, China on May 26 and was scheduled to arrive in Mexico on June 15.
At the time of the incident, there were 3,048 vehicles on board, including 70 pure electric vehicles and 681 hybrid electric vehicles. The vessel is jointly owned by Zodiac Maritime and Hawthorn Navigation, managed by Zodiac Maritime, and leased by China SAIC Anji Logistics Company.
Anji Logistics previously responded to the fire: Anji Logistics is responsible for cargo stowage planning, and the shipowner is responsible for crew deployment and operational management. We are currently waiting for news from the shipowner, and the business team is also verifying relevant information simultaneously.
According to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, the cars loaded on the “Morning Midas” came from several Chinese automakers, including Chery and Great Wall Motors. It is not clear which car brand caught fire.
Another source said: There were about 140 Great Wall vehicles onboard, but none of them were electric vehicles, and these vehicles were not on the deck where the fire broke out. Chery Automobile has not yet responded. Since the vessel departed from Yantai, China, where SAIC General Motors has a factory for producing Buick Envision models, it is not clear whether the model was on board.