A cargo ship was abandoned when its electric vehicle (EV) deck was engulfed in flames, according to reports on Friday, June 6th. The U.S. Coast Guard reported seeing smoke billowing out of the Morning Midas, approximately 300 miles south of Adak Island in Alaska,
According to management company Zodiac Maritime, the deck at the centre of the fire held about 800 EVs. As the conflagration went out of control—despite the use of standard firefighting procedures—the decision was taken to abandon ship. All 22 crew members were evacuated.
The Morning Midas left the Chinese port of Yantai on May 26th this year. It is suspected that the general problems of lithium batteries—which can overheat and burn intensely—led to the blaze.
This is not the first such incident. In July 2023, the Panamanian-registered Fremantle Highway caught fire off the Dutch coast carrying nearly 500 electric vehicles.
