Don’t Miss Your Daily Briefing for the Maritime Industry
Join the leading maritime news network
— trusted by our 109,123 members
A Coast Guard C-130J Super Hercules aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak conducts an overflight of a fire aboard the cargo vessel Morning Midas approximately 260 miles southwest of Adak, June 8, 2025. U.S. Coast Guard Photo
Salvage Tug Arrives as Car Carrier ‘Morning Midas’ Continues to Burn Off Alaska Coast
The Coast Guard continues to respond to a vessel fire aboard the car carrier Morning Midas, located approximately 220 miles south of Adak, Alaska, as the first salvage vessel arrives on scene.
The incident began on Tuesday, June 3, when smoke was detected on a deck carrying electric vehicles during the vessel’s voyage from Yantai, China to Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico. Despite immediate emergency response efforts and activation of onboard fire suppression systems, the fire’s intensity forced all 22 crew members to abandon ship.
The crew was safely evacuated via lifeboat and rescued by the merchant vessel Cosco Hellas, with no injuries reported.
The tug vessel Gretchen Dunlap has now arrived with salvage personnel and begun a full assessment of conditions. Two additional vessels are expected to arrive within the next two weeks. Zodiac Maritime, the vessel’s manager, has appointed Resolve Marine to lead salvage operations.
Photos taken by the Coast Guard on Sunday show the fire, which appeared to have started towards vessel’s stern, has now burned through the entire vessel.
A Coast Guard C-130J Super Hercules aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak conducts an overflight of a fire aboard the cargo vessel Morning Midas approximately 260 miles southwest of Adak, June 8, 2025. U.S. Coast Guard PhotoU.S. Coast Guard Photo
The 600-foot Pure Car and Truck Carrier was transporting 3,159 vehicles, including 65 fully electric vehicles and 681 partial hybrid electric vehicles. The vessel’s fuel stores include approximately 350 metric tons of gas fuel and 1,530 metric tons of very low sulfur fuel oil.
Recent Coast Guard overflights have observed no signs of pollution, and the vessel is maintaining stability despite the ongoing fire. The Morning Midas was last reported located approximately 218 miles south of Amatignak Island, roughly 11 miles within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone.
Weather conditions are being closely monitored, with recent reports indicating 45-50 knot winds and 6-foot seas. The vessel is drifting northeast at approximately 1.8 miles per hour.
“The safety of the public, responders, and vessel crews operating in the area remains our top priority,” said Rear Adm. Megan Dean, commander of the Coast Guard’s Seventeenth District. “We are working closely with Zodiac Maritime to ensure a safe and effective plan to address the fire and mitigate any potential impacts to the environment”.
The Morning Midas pictured approximately 300 miles south of Adak, Alaska, June 3, 2025. U.S. Coast Guard
The Liberian-flagged Morning Midas, built in 2006, departed China on May 26 and was originally scheduled to arrive in Mexico on June 15. The Coast Guard continues to work with Zodiac Maritime and Resolve Marine, providing expertise to ensure their salvage and safety plans are as effective as possible.
Four people remain missing after a major fire on a Singapore-flagged containership off the southwest coast of India. Multiple explosions and fires erupted aboard the Singapore-flagged container vessel MV WAN...
The car carrier Morning Midas continues to burn off Alaska’s coast as the first of three salvage tugs is expected to arrive on scene today. The vessel has been burning...
Multiple explosions and fires erupted on a cargo ship bound for India's financial capital Mumbai on Monday, causing 40 containers to fall into the Arabian Sea and forcing several crew members to jump overboard to escape the flames, officials said.
13 hours ago
Total Views: 1528
Get The Industry’s Go-To News
Subscribe to gCaptain Daily and stay informed with the latest global maritime and offshore news
— just like 109,123 professionals
Secure Your Spot
on the gCaptain Crew
Stay informed with the latest maritime and offshore news, delivered daily straight to your inbox
— trusted by our 109,123 members
Your Gateway to the Maritime World!
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.