Latest news with #ZodiacMaritime
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- General
- Bloomberg
EV-Carrying Ship Still on Fire Days After Blaze, Images Show
The US Coast Guard released images of a ship that was abandoned in the Pacific Ocean after catching fire last week. The fire on board the Morning Midas vessel continues to burn, its manager said Tuesday, after breaking out on June 3 on a deck carrying electric vehicles. There are no signs of pollution and the vessel's watertight integrity remains intact, Zodiac Maritime said.
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First Post
2 days ago
- Automotive
- First Post
Watch: Abandoned ship with 3,000 cars burns in the Pacific
Fire erupts on a cargo ship carrying 3,000 electric vehicles off Alaska's coast. The US Coast Guard had to let the vessel burn off for more than 24 hours read more A fire on a cargo ship carrying electric vehicles that contained highly flammable lithium-ion batteries burned off the coast in Alaska on Wednesday night. The fire kept on burning for more than 24 hours after it first broke out, said the US Coast Guard and the ship's manager. According to The New York Times, the vessel carrying the cars began smoking on Tuesday afternoon when the ship was approximately 1,200 miles from Anchorage. The crew onboard were enable to contain it and sent a distress call 15 minutes after the smoke started emerging. The cargo ship belongs to the London-based shipping company Zodiac Maritime. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD After the authorities reached the site, all 22 members left the 600-foot ship on a lifeboat and were rescued by a nearby commercial vessel, the Coast Guard said in a statement. A spokesperson for the US Coast Guard told local reporters that it was allowing the fire to burn out and was monitoring the ship from a safe distance since the lithium-ion batteries in the cars have a risk of exploding. More from World Pakistan gets law to arrest Baloch citizens for 90 days only on suspicion Video from the U.S. Coast Guard shows the massive cargo ship that caught fire 300 miles from the Alaskan coast earlier this week. Read more: — FOX Weather (@foxweather) June 6, 2025 Why was the fire not prevented at the start? Dustin Eno, a spokesman for Zodiac Maritime, said there were no firefighting vessels nearby to help put out the blaze, and that a salvage team was expected to arrive on Monday. Petty Officer First Class Shannon Kearney of the Coast Guard's 17th District in Alaska said that the American agency is planning to investigate the cause of the fire. It is pertinent to note that Electric vehicles contain lithium-ion batteries that can overheat and cause fires that spread rapidly and produce toxic gases. This is what makes them difficult and dangerous to extinguish. According to the NYT, the vessel named Morning Midas was carrying 3,000 cars, including 800 electric vehicles, and had been expected to arrive at Lázaro Cárdenas in Mexico on June 15. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The ship left Yantai, China, on May 26, and stopped at Shanghai and Nansha, two major hubs for Chinese electric vehicle exports, before it set off across the Pacific. The trip was not unusual since imports from China dominate the electric vehicle market in Latin America. According to the International Energy Agency, more than 60 per cent of electric vehicles sold in Mexico in 2023 and 2024 were from China.
eNCA
2 days ago
- General
- eNCA
Fire on cargo ship off Alaska carrying EVs left burning
WASHINGTON - A fire on a cargo ship carrying electric vehicles off the coast of Alaska was left burning with salvage teams expected to intervene on Monday, according to media reports. The Alaskan coast guard received a distress call on Tuesday reporting a fire onboard the Morning Midas, a British-managed cargo ship with 22 crew members and carrying thousands of vehicles. The crew evacuated on a lifeboat before being rescued by another private vessel. An overflight of the cargo ship, currently located around 547 kilometres southwest of Adak, confirmed the ship was still burning on Wednesday, the coastguard said in a statement. "Currently, there are no visual indications that the ship is taking on water or listing, and the extent of the damage is unknown," it said. Dustin Eno, a spokesman for the ship's management company Zodiac Maritime, said there were no firefighting vessels nearby to help extinguish the blaze, the New York Times reported. A salvage team was expected to arrive on Monday, the outlet and the Los Angeles Times said. Video footage released by the coastguard shows smoke rising from the 600-foot (183-meter) vessel, which is reported to be carrying more than 3,000 vehicles, around 750 of which are electric or hybrid. Electric vehicles contain lithium-ion batteries, which are generally safe but can overheat and ignite if damaged. The ship is also estimated to be carrying hundreds of metric tons of gas fuel, according to the coastguard.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Cargo ship full of electric vehicles abandoned in Pacific Ocean after terrifying fire erupts
A salvage team is en route to a cargo ship carrying almost 3,000 vehicles that was abandoned in the Pacific Ocean after a fire broke out earlier this week off Alaska 's Aleutian Islands. The 600-foot Morning Midas remains adrift approximately 300 miles southwest of Adak Island, according to the US Coast Guard, which is continuing to monitor the situation via satellite. Photographs show the vessel still smoking hundreds of miles from the nearest coastline days after the initial distress signal was received. Thick columns of smoke can be seen billowing into the sky. Incredibly, all 22 crew members were safely evacuated onto a lifeboat on Tuesday afternoon and later rescued by a nearby merchant vessel. They remained aboard the rescue ship as of Thursday, the vessel's management company, London-based Zodiac Maritime, said. The fire was first reported around 3:15pm on Tuesday as the ship was transporting an around 70 high-powered fully electric vehicles and about 680 hybrids, in addition to a broader cargo of vehicles bound for a major Pacific port in Mexico. The ship had departed Yantai, China, on May 26. The Coast Guard noted that the vehicle figures remain preliminary as the situation develops. The cause of the fire remains under investigation but lithium-ion batteries, widely used in electric vehicles, are known to present firefighting challenges due to their high combustibility once ignited. Lithium fires burn hot, long, and are notoriously difficult to extinguish. A tugboat carrying salvage specialists and firefighting equipment is expected to reach the Morning Midas early next week, Zodiac Maritime said. A second tug, with enhanced ocean towage capabilities, is also being arranged to assist with the operation. For now, officials are relying on the adrift ship's satellite systems to track its condition remotely. The Morning Midas was built in 2006 and is registered under a Liberian flag. Environmental concerns are being closely monitored. Experts warn that if the fire spreads to fuel tanks or causes structural failure, the vessel could leak toxic chemicals or even sink, creating a long-term environmental hazard. Fires involving electric vehicles can present unique hazards if not contained, raising the risk of structural compromise or hazardous material being released into the ocean. The incident has drawn comparisons to a 2023 fire aboard another car carrier, which was transporting around 3,000 vehicles, including nearly 500 electric cars, from Germany to Singapore. That fire burned for a week, resulting in one death and multiple injuries, before the ship was eventually towed to port in the Netherlands. Following that incident, Dutch safety authorities called for improvements in emergency response protocols for ships carrying electric vehicles.
Observer
3 days ago
- General
- Observer
Cargo ship off Alaska left burning
A fire on a Cargo ship carrying electric vehicles off the coast of Alaska was left burning with salvage teams expected to intervene, according to media reports. The Alaskan coastguard received a distress call on Tuesday reporting a fire onboard the Morning Midas, a British-managed Cargo ship with 22 crew members and carrying thousands of vehicles. The crew evacuated on a lifeboat before being rescued by another private vessel. Dustin Eno, a spokesman for the ship's management company Zodiac Maritime, said there were no firefighting vessels nearby to help extinguish the blaze. — AFP
