Aerial Footage Uncovers Blaze Expanding on Midas Car Carrier Near Alaska's Shores

According to a recent report from the U.S. Coast Guard, a C-130J Super Hercules aircrew conducted an aerial survey of the burning car carrier Morning Midas on Wednesday. The fire has spread across several decks, and the ship is noticeably tilting at the stern. Flames are visible, along with a sheen on the water’s surface.

This vehicle carrier was situated about 300 miles south of Adak, Alaska, and has been ablaze since June 3rd when smoke was first spotted coming from a deck loaded with electric vehicles during its journey from Yantai, China to Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico. Despite quick action by the crew—who activated onboard fire suppression systems—the blaze became too intense for them to stay aboard. All 22 crew members were safely evacuated using lifeboats and were rescued by another vessel named Cosco Hellas without any reported injuries.

At that time, the Morning Midas—a 600-foot Pure Car and Truck Carrier (PCTC)—was transporting 3,159 vehicles including 65 fully electric models and 681 hybrid ones. It also had significant fuel reserves: around 350 metric tons of gas fuel alongside approximately 1,530 metric tons of vrey low sulfur fuel oil.

In comparison to footage taken earlier on June 3rd showing smoke billowing from the cargo vessel while it was still afloat under satellite surveillance—no water pollution has been detected according to recent assessments by Coast Guard officials.

Zodiac Maritime manages this vessel and has enlisted Resolve Marine for salvage operations; they expect their first specialized tugboat equipped for firefighting efforts to arrive around June 9th.

This incident adds to an alarming trend in car carrier fires over recent years—previous notable cases include incidents involving Fremantle Highway in 2023 and Felicity Ace in 2022; while some vessels like Felicity Ace sank fully after similar events occurred.The Morning Midas is flagged under Liberia and was built back in 2006; it set sail from China on May 26th with plans to reach Mexico by June15th. As it remains afloat amidst ongoing monitoring efforts, authorities continue their assessment regarding environmental impacts related to this incident.