• A ship transporting 3,000 vehicles across the Pacific caught fire and had to be abandoned.
For all the vast number of ships that traverse the oceans every day – including many carrying thousands of vehicles, incidents remain rare. But when they happen, it can be spectacular. Recall the case of the Felicity Ace, which caught fire in 2022 and sank with 4,000 Volkswagen Group vehicles in its hold.
This week, a ship carrying 3,000 vehicles caught fire in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and had to be abandoned by its crew, which was unable to bring the blaze under control. According to Zodiac Maritime, which manages the Morning Midas ship, smoke was first spotted on its deck on Tuesday.
It wasn’t specified what brand of vehicles the ship is carrying. We do know some 800 of them are all-electric, which could complicate firefighting efforts.
The U.S. Coast Guard evacuated all 22 crew members and transferred them to a nearby merchant vessel. It stated that aerial teams and a ship had been dispatched to the abandoned vessel while the crew was still actively fighting the fire.
Zodiac Maritime has confirmed that responders are being deployed to support rescue and firefighting operations. The ship departed on its voyage from the Chinese port of Yantai on May 26.
