Blaze and Sink: Cargo Ship with 3,000 Cars Goes Down in the Pacific

On June 23, the massive car carrier Morning Midas finally sank beneath the waves, taking with it more than 3,000 new vehicles - many of them electric. The ship had been en route from China to Mexico, but the journey came to an abrupt and fiery end.

Three weeks prior, a fire broke out on board, originating from the deck where electric vehicles were stored. What exactly ignited first remains unknown, but the outcome is painfully clear - or rather, no longer visible.

The crew fought to save the vessel, but in the early hours of June 2, the situation overwhelmed them. After failed firefighting efforts, Morning Midas was abandoned and left to meet its fate in international waters near the Aleutian Islands.

Among the cargo were around 800 electric vehicles, reportedly including models from Chinese manufacturers Chery and Great Wall. Also on board were a number of Buick Envision crossovers, built by the SAIC-GM joint venture in Yantai, China - the port from which the ill-fated voyage began.

To prevent an environmental disaster, two specially equipped salvage tugs are now patrolling the area, watching for leaks or floating vehicle debris. A pollution control vessel has also been dispatched as a precaution - because no one quite knows what those batteries might do next.

The incident is a grim reminder of one critical truth: lithium batteries are not known for playing nice. When things go wrong, they don’t just go wrong - they erupt in flames.

Morning Midas wasn’t the first and likely won’t be the last. But what’s left - or more accurately, what isn’t - will carry a hefty cost. Not just for the logistics firm, but for the broader notion that electric vehicles can be casually stacked by the thousands on a freighter and shipped off safely. Sometimes, those cars make their final voyage before they ever hit the road.