Browsed by
Tag: Morning Midas

Morning Midas Sank

Morning Midas Sank

Morning Midas
Photo: USCG

SINKING

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.

Morning Midas
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.

 

Morning Midas Update

Morning Midas Update

Morning Midas
Photo: USCG

June 9 Update

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. 

Morning Midas
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.

Morning Midas
Photo: USCG

The Coast Guard is closely monitoring weather conditions.  They report that conditions were 45-50 knot winds and 6-foot seas.

 

Morning Midas
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.

 

Morning Midas

Morning Midas

Morning Midas
Photo: USCG

Around midnight on June 3, the 183 meter long, 12250 dwt car carrier Morning Midas (IMO: 9289910) caught fire in the North Pacific Ocean some 300 miles south of Adak, Alaska. The Morning Midas departed from Yantai, China with over 3100 vehicles with 65 electric and over 600 hybrid vehicles bound for Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico. While en route the crew detected smoke from one of the vehicle decks. The crew attempted to contain the blaze by using the vessel’s onboard fire suppression system.  Unfortunately, the system was unable to stop the blaze which continued to spread to other decks on the vessel.

By the afternoon of June 3, the fire was out of control and the crew alerted the United States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard sent out a broadcast alerting vessels in the area to assist while multiple Coast Guard aircraft were deployed from bases in Adak and Kodiak. The 22 crew on board the Morning Midas safely evacuated into the vessel’s life raft and were rescued by the 355.5 meter long containership Cosco Hellas (IMO: 9308510) which had responded to the distress call.  There were no injuries reported.

Morning Midas
Photo: USCG

The Coast Guard has stated they are monitoring the car carrier as smoke could still be seen billowing out from its decks. The vessels owners have arranged for a tug with firefighting equipment be sent in the hope the fire can be extinguished and the Morning Midas can be taken under tow. News reports state the fire may have started by possibly one of the lithium-ion batteries used by electric cars. If a lithium-ion battery fire is not detected early, there is a high risk of a runaway thermal reaction.

The Coast Guard is also monitoring the situation for possible oil pollution if the Morning Midas sinks before the fire is extinguished. Reports state there is 350 tons of diesel and 1530 tons of fuel oil on board the car carrier.