Zodiac Maritime Appoints Resolve Marine for Salvage Operations of Burning Vehicle Carrier

Zodiac Maritime has appointed Resolve Marine to lead salvage operations for the vehicle carrier Morning Midas, which continues to burn approximately 300 miles south of Adak, Alaska.

The incident began around 00:00 UTC on June 3 when smoke was observed emanating from a deck carrying electric vehicles during the vessel’s passage from Yantai, China to Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico.

Despite the crew’s activation of emergency firefighting protocols and deployment of onboard fire suppression systems, the intensity of the fire forced crew to abandon ship.

All 22 crew members were safely evacuated via lifeboat and rescued by the good samaritan M/V Cosco Hellas, with no injuries reported.

The first salvage tug, carrying specialists and specialized equipment, is expected to arrive at the scene around June 9. An additional fire-fighting tug with ocean towage capability is also being arranged. In the meantime, Zodiac Maritime maintains vessel tracking through satellite-connected systems, though onboard condition monitoring remains limited.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the 600-foot Pure Car and Truck Carrier (PCTC) was transporting 3,159 vehicles, including 65 fully electric vehicles and 681 partial hybrid electric vehicles. The vessel is also estimated to be carrying approximately 350 metric tons of gas fuel and 1,530 metric tons of very low sulfur fuel oil.

According to the most recent Coast Guard overflights, the Morning Midas remains afloat but continues to burn with visible smoke coming from the vessel. No water pollution has been reported.

This incident adds to a series of notable car carrier fires in recent years, including the Fremantle Highway (2023), Felicity Ace (2022), and Sincerity Ace (2018). These previous incidents resulted in fires that continued to burn for several days, with the Felicity Ace ultimately sinking while the others remained afloat.

The Morning Midas, built in 2006 and flying the Liberian flag, is managed by London-headquartered Zodiac Maritime. The vessel departed China on May 26 and was originally scheduled to arrive in Mexico on June 15.