A Look Back at Recent Car Carrier Fires

Summary

The fire aboard the car carrier Morning Midas in the North Pacific Ocean marks the latest significant incident in the maritime industry’s ongoing challenges involving fires on vehicle carriers. The UK-owned, Liberia-flagged vessel caught fire on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, about 300 miles south of Adak, forcing all 22 crew members to evacuate. The vessel was carrying 3,159 vehicles—including 65 fully electric and 681 partial hybrid electric vehicles—when crew members spotted smoke coming from a deck containing electric vehicles. Despite immediately activating onboard fire suppression systems, the crew couldn’t contain the fire and had to abandon ship via life raft. They were safely transferred to a nearby good Samaritan vessel. The Morning Midas had departed Yantai, China on May 26 and was heading to Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico, with an expected arrival of June 15. The Coast Guard is now working with the vessel’s management company, London-based Zodiac Maritime, on salvage operations and next steps. This incident follows a concerning pattern of similar events in recent years, underscoring the shipping industry’s challenges with vehicle transport, especially those equipped with lithium-ion batteries. Each incident in this growing list of car carrier fires provides crucial safety insights. Previous examples are detailed below: Fremantle Highway The Fremantle Highway on fire in the North Sea, July 26, 2023. Photo courtesy Netherlands Coastguard The Fremantle Highway, a Japanese-owned car carrier with 3,783 vehicles aboard, caught fire on July 25, 2023, near Ameland, Netherlands. The crew was unable to extinguish the fire, leading to its evacuation. Of 23 Indian crew members, 16 were rescued by helicopter, seven jumped overboard, and one died. The fire eventually burned out and the vessel was towed to Eemshaven, where 1,000 vehicles were salvaged from lower decks. The damaged ship was later sent to China for repairs. Despite proximity to the Wadden Sea UNESCO site and risk from ...