Temporary Waiting
More is known about the gigantic cargo ship carrying thousands of cars that is currently ablaze in the Pacific Ocean.
Last week, it was announced that the Morning Midas – a 183-meter-long cargo ship – was on fire. The ship is adrift in the Pacific Ocean and was still ablaze on Wednesday afternoon at least. We can now tell you more about the ship and the situation.
For example, Bloomberg previously reported that the ship would have more than 3,000 cars on board, about 800 of which are fully electric. That does not seem to be entirely correct. There are a total of 3,048 cars on board. Of these, 681 are a hybrid and ‘only’ 70 are electric cars. That’s probably good news for the mountain services, as EV fires are not exactly easy to extinguish, should extinguishing be considered.
The Morning Midas sails under the Liberian flag and is currently managed by the English Zodiac Maritime. All 22 crew members are said to have left the ship by lifeboat on July 4. On Tuesday, the ship was said to be about 355 kilometers from Adak Island (Alaska). It drifted at a speed of less than 3 km/h – about one and a half knots – towards the northeast. Good news: there are no indications yet that the ship is taking on water or leaking harmful liquids.
What happens next? That remains to be seen. The U.S. Coast Guard says it expects two ships to arrive on scene within two weeks. Resolve Marine has been appointed as the salvage company. Work is underway to draw up a recovery plan.
Attached photos are from USCGAlaska and were taken on 4 (photos 1 and 5) and 9 June. (photos 2, 3, 4 and 6).