A view of the ship from the cockpit of a USCG Hercules. Photo: USGC Alaska
A burning, abandoned cargo ship with 3159 cars onboard is under US Coast Guard (USCG) observation as it drifts off the Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
The Morning Midas was reported at 220 miles southwest of Adak Island on Monday (local time).
The last update from the USGC, posted on X/Twitter, says there is no sign it is taking on water.
The USGC is keeping a close eye on the weather. In its last report today (Australian time), it said conditions involved 45-50 knot winds and six-feet (1.82m) seas.
Regular flights, on-scene reports and drift analysis say the Morning Midas is drifting northeast at about 1.8 miles per hour (2.8kmh).
“The safety of the public, responders, and vessel crews operating in the area remains our top priority,” said Rear Admiral Megan Dean, a USGC district commander.
“We are working closely with Zodiac Maritime to ensure a safe and effective plan to address the fire and mitigate any potential impacts to the environment.”
The USCG said it received the first report of a fire onboard the vessel last Tuesday (June 3) afternoon and has been working closely with its managers, Zodiac Maritime.
On June 9, the tug Gretchen Dunlap arrived on the scene with salvage personnel and is assessing the conditions onboard; two more vessels are due to arrive on the scene in the next two weeks, the USCG said.
A Hercules aircraft from the USCG base at Kodiak flew over the Morning Midas on Sunday and detected no signs of pollution.
The 22-strong crew, who abandoned the ship last Thursday (Australian time) in life rafts, were picked up by a nearby vessel that had responded to an alert, and taken to its next port of call with no reported injuries.
ABOUT THE VESSEL
The Morning Midas is a 600-foot (182m) UK-flagged cargo vessel.
At the start of the fire, the Morning Midas was estimated to have about 350 tonnes of fuel and 1530 tonnes of very low sulphur fuel oil onboard.
The USGC says the vessel is reportedly carrying 3159 vehicles; 65 are fully-electric and 681 are partially-electric.
