Fire on Ship Sinks 3,000 Cars off the Coast of Alaska (VIDEO)
Three weeks after a fire broke out on a cargo ship off the coast of Alaska, the vessel has sunk in the Pacific Ocean with thousands of cars on board, according to U.S. media reports. All 22 crew members were successfully evacuated, and the Coast Guard reports that there are currently no signs of pollution.
The fire broke out on June 3 aboard the Morning Midas, a 183-meter-long, 46,800-ton ship, but no crew members were injured, the U.S. Coast Guard stated earlier.
The ship, which was carrying around 3,000 vehicles including 800 electric cars, was sailing under the Liberian flag. It departed from China and was en route to Mexico.
🇨🇳 🇲🇽 BUQUE CON AUTOS ELÉCTRICOS SE HUNDE EN EL PACÍFICO 🚢
— México Ahora (@AhoraMex) June 26, 2025
Morning Midas, un buque con más de 3,000 vehículos eléctricos procedentes de China con destino a México, se hundió en el Pacífico tras incendiarse por fallas en las baterías.
El incidente ocurrió a 770 km de Alaska. La… pic.twitter.com/qYMMEIkoB2
The company operating the ship, “Zodiac Maritime,” stated that smoke was first detected on the deck and that the crew failed to bring the fire under control. However, the ship’s owner has not been disclosed.
The vessel was built by the Chinese company Xiamen Shipbuilding.
Liberia has announced it will launch an investigation into the cause of the fire, while “Zodiac Maritime” is conducting a separate internal investigation.
Both the company and the Coast Guard emphasize that it is too early to draw conclusions about whether the electric vehicles caused the fire.
Fires involving electric vehicles are often harder to extinguish and more dangerous, and on cargo ships, the cars are packed in ways that limit ventilation, which can accelerate the spread of fire, Bloomberg notes.
