The car carrier Morning Midas Shows No Signs of Active Fire After Electric Vehicle Cargo Deck Incident

The car carrier Morning Midas, which experienced a fire in its electric vehicle cargo deck on June 3, shows no signs of active fire according to salvage teams that recently assessed the vessel.

The Garth Foss, a specialized firefighting tug, arrived at the vessel’s location on June 15 and has taken over operations from the tug Gretchen Dunlap, which had been on scene since June 9. A third tug with long-distance towing capabilities is expected to arrive within the next week.

“Both thermal scans and visual inspections show no signs of active fire onboard,” report salvage and firefighting specialists from the Garth Foss. “There are no signs of pollution to the water and the vessel’s watertight integrity remains intact.”

The incident began when smoke was detected during the vessel’s voyage from Yantai, China to Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico. All 22 crew members were safely evacuated and rescued by the merchant vessel Cosco Hellas.

The 600-foot vessel was carrying 3,159 vehicles, including 65 fully electric vehicles and 681 partial hybrid electric vehicles, along with approximately 350 metric tons of gas fuel and 1,530 metric tons of very low sulfur fuel oil.

Resolve Marine, appointed by vessel manager Zodiac Maritime, is implementing comprehensive salvage and safety plans with United States Coast Guard oversight. Pollution control assets remain on standby.