On the morning of August 1, the 110 foot long tug vessel Sea Ranger sank in the Gulf of Alaska some 130 miles south of Cordova, Alaska. The Sea Ranger contacted the United States Coast Guard that the vessel was taking on water and requested assistance. The Coast Guard responded by sending an HC-130 Super Hercules aircraft from Kodiak with a dewatering pump. The helicopter arrived and able to deliver0 the pump to the crew and returned to back to shore.
Two hours later the Sea Ranger contacted the Coast Guard stating the vessel was in trouble. The tug vessel had suffered a fire in the engine room and the main engine was now inoperative. With no power for the dewatering pumps, the crew of four were unable to stop the water ingress. The Coast Guard deployed a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter along with an HC-130 Super Hercules airplane to assist. The helicopter arrived a few hours later on scene and hoisted all 4 crew members off the Sea Ranger. The crew were flown to Cordova and found to be in good condition. The tug vessel was last reported to be in sinking condition and was assumed lost.
On June 23, the the 183 meter long, 12250 dwt car carrier Morning Midas (IMO: 9289910) sank in the Pacific Ocean some 450 miles southwest of Alaska’s Aleutian Island of Adak after being on fire for nearly 3 weeks. The salvage company Zodiac Maritime stated the vessel had suffered water ingress from the fire damage causing the vessel to finally sink. The car carrier sank to a depth of 16,404 feet.
POLLUTION
There was no reports of visible pollution at the site of the sinking. The United States Coast Guard reported they have vessels on scene ready to respond to any pollution released. Currently, the salvage vessels 47 meter long Garth Foss (IMO: 9070266) and 69 meter long Salvage Worker (IMO: 9250024) were onsite and equipped with pollution response equipment. Additionally, the 57 meter long offshore supply vessel Endeavour (IMO: 8623468) had departed from Dutch Harbor with oil pollution containment equipment and will be on site of the wreck by June 26.
Photo: USCG
The Coast Guard nor the Zodiac Maritime have no reported if any oil pollution had been released between June 9 through June 23. The Morning Midas may still have 1,530 metric tons of fuel oil along with 350 metric tons of gas oil (MGO) within its fuel tanks. Even if the fire onboard burned some of the fuel, there will be a significant amount of fuel that maybe released. This may not result in any oil pollution reaching the surface due to the depth of the wreck. In research after the Deepwater Horizon disaster (Fisher, C.R., P.A. Montagna, and T.T. Sutton. 2016. Oceanography 29(3):182–195), oil pollution can remain on the ocean bottom rather than appear on the surface as an oil slick.
INVESTIGATION
There has been no press release if the incident will be investigated any further. Some news accounts stated the Morning Midas was already unsalvageable before the Zodiac Maritime vessels arrived on site. Due to its location and great depth (the Morning Midas is nearly 3/4 of mile deeper than the wreck of the Titanic), the investigation may not include any underwater surveys using ROVs. It is also doubtful any voyage data recording devices survived the fire prior to the sinking. Additionally, the car carrier sank in international waters and may not require any US Coast Guard or other United States authorities to investigate.
An United States Coast Guard conducted an overflight of the 183 meter long, 12250 dwt car carrier Morning Midas (IMO: 9289910). The car carrier is now approximately 260 miles southwest of Adak. The car carrier shows extensive fire and heat damage to the entire vessel. Smoke can still be seen coming from the car decks below.
Photo: USCG
The salvage tug Gretchen Dunlap was reported to be on scene with salvage personnel. Reports state they have started a full assessment of the vessel. Two more salvage vessels are scheduled to arrive on scene within the next two weeks.
Photo: USCG
The Coast Guard is closely monitoring weather conditions. They report that conditions were 45-50 knot winds and 6-foot seas.
Photo: USCG
June 7 Update
The 183 meter long, 12250 dwt car carrier Morning Midas (IMO: 9289910) continues to be on fire and adrift in the North Pacific Ocean south of Adak, Alaska. The fire has consumed multiple car decks and hull damage is now clearly visible. The stern of the Morning Midas is now sitting lower in the water and a sheen of oil pollution can be seen following the vessel.
The owners had requested a tugboat with fire fighting capabilities but the vessel wont arrived on site until June 9. The United States Coast Guard continues to do aerial monitoring of the Morning Midas. Reports state the car carrier may be lost before the tugboat arrives. If the fire intensity continues for a few more days, the car carrier’s hull integrity might just fail and the Morning Midas would sink.
