Drama on the world's oceans: Fire on cargo ship Morning Midas!

Drama on the world's oceans: Fire on cargo ship Morning Midas!

483 Kilometer südwestlich von Adak, Alaska, USA - On June 5, 2025, there was a devastating fire on the “Morning Midas” cargo ship, which was traveling in the Pacific. The ship transported around 3000 vehicles, including around 800 electric cars. The fire broke out more than 24 hours earlier on a deck on which the electric vehicles were located. According to information from Krone , the cargo ship is currently about 483 kilometers southwest of Adak, Alaska.

Rauch rose from the cover in question on Tuesday, which prompted the 22-member crew to send an emergency call within 15 minutes. Despite its efforts, the crew was not possible to extinguish the fire. However, all crew members could be saved safely with a lifeboat and recorded by a merchant ship. The US Coast Guard had the fire burned down in a controlled manner, since the presence of lithium-ion batteries on board classified the Situation as extremely fire-threatening.

risks of lithium-ion batteries

The exact cause of the fire is still unclear, but experts suspect that the electric cars may have triggered the fire. Investigations into the cause of the fire could take weeks to months. This incident is reminiscent of the downfall of the "Felicity Ace" in 2022, which sank after a fire, and shows the potential dangers that can emerge from lithium-ion batteries. GdV Make conventional extinguishing systems on ships ineffective.

According to Uwe-Peter Schieder, captain and expert for sea shipping security, the current extinguishing systems on ships are not suitable for the specific dangers of electric vehicles and their batteries. Since the lithium-ion batteries generate oxygen, CO2 extinguishing systems cannot be used in an effective way. It is therefore recommended to install high-pressure water lever systems that can contribute to cooling the fire.

situation on the market for electric cars

The freight ship "Morning Midas" had started his journey on May 26 from Yantai, China, and planned to arrive at Lázaro Cárdenas on June 15th. Over 60 percent of the electric cars sold in Mexico in 2023/24 come from China, which indicates a growing dependency on this type of vehicle logistics. Industry insiders warn of the risks associated with the shipping of electric vehicles.

In Germany, there are no comprehensive statistics on vehicle fires. Markus Egelhaaf from Dekra accident research noted that the widespread assumption of a higher fire risk of electric vehicles is not clearly justified. Studies have shown that the causes of fire of electric vehicles are usually special in nature and can be divided into certain groups. Dekra also examines the fire risks of different vehicle types and finds out that battery-electric cars do not burn more often than conventional vehicle types.

The problem is reinforced by the phenomenon of the "Thermal Runaway" in batteries, which can result from short circuits within a cell, which leads to a rapid rise in temperature. Therefore, the way in which fires in electric vehicles are deleted is crucial, whereby special extinguishing devices are required to get into the waterproof housing of the high-voltage batteries.

Although burning electric cars do not raise fewer problems than conventional cars, the safe handling and combating of these fires requires special attention and a re -evaluation of the technologies used for fire fighting on ships.