London-based owner Zodiac Maritime has launched an emergency response following a fire that broke out on its 4,902 ceu car carrier Morning Midas.
According to the company, the incident occurred at around midnight local time on June 3 in the Pacific Ocean, some 1,900 km from the port of Anchorage, during the vessel’s passage to Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico. All members of the crew are safe and accounted for, and uninjured.
The 2006-built vessel is loaded with around 3,000 vehicles, 800 of which are electric. Smoke was initially seen emanating from a deck carrying electric vehicles.
The crew immediately initiated emergency firefighting procedures using the vessel’s onboard fire suppression systems. However, the situation could not be brought under control.
The company said that, in consultation with the United States Coast Guard, all 22 crew members were safely evacuated via lifeboat and are being transferred to a nearby merchant vessel.
The relevant authorities have been notified, and a tug has also been deployed to support salvage and firefighting operations.
According to the Equasis database, the vessel is co-owned by Zodiac Maritime and Hawthorn Navigation. Zodiac is also the manager of the vessel.