A cargo ship carrying electric cars is on fire in the Pacific Ocean
The car carrier Morning Midas, carrying about 3,000 cars, including 800 electric cars, caught fire in the Pacific Ocean. The crew were unable to put out the fire and were forced to abandon ship on Tuesday, 3 June.
Here's What We Know
The Morning Midas vessel left the Chinese port of Yantai on 26 May and was heading to Mexico after several stops at other Chinese ports. A statement from Zodiac Maritime, the ship's management company, said the crew had started firefighting efforts, but the blaze could not be brought under control.
The U.S. Coast Guard evacuated all 22 crew members and moved them to the nearest merchant vessel. Zodiac said salvage crews were being deployed to support firefighting operations. A company spokesman declined to comment on who owned the vehicles.
According to insurance company Allianz, the growing demand for lithium-ion batteries, including in electric vehicles, brings with it new risks for the global shipping industry. Car car carriers such as Morning Midas carry thousands of vehicles on each voyage. Electric vehicle fires are more difficult to extinguish. The conditions of tightly packed decks lead to limited ventilation, which can quickly increase the heat. The confined, steel-clad environment makes extinguishing and rescue efforts much more dangerous.
In 2022, a ship carrying nearly 4,000 cars caught fire in the Atlantic and sank despite attempts to tow it to safety. A year later, another vessel with nearly 3,000 cars on board caught fire off the coast of the Netherlands.
Source: Bloomberg
