Fire Rages Aboard EV-Laden Cargo Ship Off Alaska Coast: Coast Guard Monitors From Distance

Fire Rages Aboard EV-Laden Cargo Ship Off Alaska Coast: Coast Guard Monitors From Distance

A fire broke out aboard a cargo ship carrying thousands of vehicles — including hundreds of electric vehicles (EVs) equipped with volatile lithium-ion batteries — and continued to burn uncontrollably off the coast of Alaska on Wednesday night, more than 24 hours after it was first reported, authorities confirmed.

The ship, Morning Midas, a 600-foot-long vehicle carrier managed by London-based Zodiac Maritime, sent out a distress signal on Tuesday afternoon after smoke was detected on one of its decks. According to Zodiac, the fire began approximately 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage as the vessel was en route from China to Mexico.

Unable to contain the growing fire, the crew of 22 sailors evacuated the vessel shortly after raising the alarm. All members boarded a lifeboat and were rescued by a nearby commercial vessel, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. No injuries have been reported, and the rescued crew members are being cared for on the assisting vessel.

Coast Guard officials stated on Thursday that the fire, still active aboard the Morning Midas, is being closely monitored from a safe distance. Authorities are allowing it to burn itself out due to the significant risk posed by the electric vehicles’ lithium-ion batteries, which can explode under extreme heat.

“It’s simply too dangerous to approach while the fire is active, especially with the amount of EVs onboard,” said Petty Officer First Class Shannon Kearney of the Coast Guard’s 17th District in Alaska. “The presence of lithium-ion batteries makes firefighting efforts extremely hazardous.”

The Morning Midas was transporting 3,000 vehicles, including about 800 electric cars, and had been scheduled to arrive at the Mexican port of Lázaro Cárdenas on June 15. The ship had departed from Yantai, China, on May 26 and made stops in Shanghai and Nansha — two major Chinese export hubs for electric vehicles — before embarking on its Pacific crossing.

While the cause of the fire remains unknown, Kearney confirmed that a formal investigation would be launched to determine the origin. “It’s too early to say definitively that the EVs were the source,” she emphasized. “But the unique risks associated with lithium-ion batteries are well documented.”

Lithium-ion batteries — the standard power source for electric vehicles — are known to pose severe fire hazards when damaged or overheated. Fires involving these batteries can spread rapidly, release toxic gases, and reignite hours or even days after they are initially extinguished. At sea, the risks are amplified, as exposure to saltwater can further destabilize the battery’s chemical integrity and ignite larger blazes.

The growing use of lithium-powered vehicles on ocean-going car carriers has raised increasing safety concerns among maritime and aviation regulators. In a notorious precedent, the Felicity Ace, a car carrier similar in size to the Morning Midas, caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean in early 2022. That fire, which also involved electric vehicles, burned for nearly two weeks before the vessel sank — along with around 4,000 vehicles, including luxury brands like Porsche and Bentley.

“The Felicity Ace incident demonstrated just how catastrophic battery fires can be at sea,” said maritime risk analyst Thomas Brauer, based in Hamburg. “Despite increased awareness, the shipping industry is still grappling with how to effectively manage these kinds of fires onboard.”

The risks aren’t limited to shipping. Lithium-ion batteries have been linked to numerous safety incidents in the aviation sector. Several major airlines, including Southwest and various Asian carriers, have recently restricted or banned the onboard use and transportation of such batteries. These measures followed a high-profile fire at a South Korean airport earlier this year, which destroyed a passenger aircraft. Investigators have not definitively tied the incident to batteries, but the blaze has intensified regulatory scrutiny.

In the case of the Morning Midas, Zodiac Maritime said its priority is crew safety and minimizing environmental impact. The company said it was coordinating closely with maritime authorities to determine the best course of action for the smoldering vessel.

Experts warn that incidents like this could become more common as global demand for electric vehicles rises. EV exports from China, in particular, have surged. According to the International Energy Agency, more than 60% of all electric vehicles sold in Mexico in 2023 and 2024 were Chinese-made — most of them shipped by sea.

“It’s a trade boom — but it comes with new safety dimensions,” said Alejandra Salgado, an automotive logistics specialist in Mexico City. “Shipments now include hundreds or thousands of high-energy batteries in close proximity. This isn’t just a mechanical fire anymore. It’s a chemical hazard.”

Environmental watchdogs are also concerned about potential marine pollution if the fire leads to the ship’s sinking. While there is no immediate threat of capsizing, the Morning Midas is adrift and unmanned, its systems offline and the fire’s full extent unknown.

The Coast Guard has not disclosed the vessel’s precise location but confirmed that salvage and firefighting experts are being consulted. Aerial surveillance is ongoing to monitor fire behavior and any signs of oil leaks or battery runoff into the ocean.

Until more is known, the Morning Midas remains a floating, fiery symbol of a modern transport dilemma: how to safely move new-energy vehicles across vast oceans — and what to do when things go catastrophically wrong.

Leave A Comment

All fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required