A 600-foot cargo ship that caught fire June 3 near the remote Aleutian island of Adak is still burning. The crew of the Morning Midas was rescued with no injuries, but the ship is adrift in the North Pacific with potentially hazardous cargo aboard.
The Morning Midas is reportedly carrying over 3,000 vehicles, some of them electric.
Adak City Manager Breck Craig said he’s concerned about the ship drifting into Aleutian waters with burning car batteries aboard. He’s also keeping an eye out for environmental hazards.
“With the amount of fuel and hydraulics and everything else that's on that vessel, if it runs aground and causes a spill or something, that would be terrible for all of us,” Craig said.
Adak is the westernmost municipality in the United States, about 400 nautical miles southwest of Unalaska. It’s a former naval base with roughly 50 permanent residents today.
The Coast Guard flew over the Morning Midas June 4. In a June 6 statement, they said there were no signs that it was taking on water or listing. The ship’s manager, Zodiac Maritime, said there are no reports of pollution to the water.
The ship’s location is being tracked remotely through its onboard satellite-connected systems. On Thursday, it was about 340 miles southwest of Adak, putting it in international waters. The Coast Guard sent a cutter and aircrews to respond to the fire.
“I do have confidence that the Coast Guard is on this and that they are being as proactive as possible,” Craig said.
Once the ship is ready to be towed, Craig said he expects it to be brought back to Asia for repairs. The Morning Midas started its cross-Pacific journey in China late last month and was headed to Mexico, according to shipping data provider Marine Optima.
Zodiac Maritime chose salvage company Resolve Marine to respond to the fire. A tugboat with a team of salvage specialists is on its way and expected to arrive at the scene around Monday, June 9. Zodiac representatives said they plan to send out another firefighting tugboat with towing capabilities.
