Morning Midas: from fire and rescue to sinking
A vehicle carrier caught fire in the North Pacific on 3 June 2025. All 22 crew members were rescued. After salvage teams reached the drifting ship, it capsized and sank on 23 June.[2][4]
Last documented outcome
As of 24 Jun 2025
Ship sank; pollution monitoring continued
The Coast Guard reported the sinking on 24 June. No visible pollution had been reported at that point; salvage vessels remained in the area with response equipment. That observation does not establish the absence of later or underwater releases.[4]
The sequence of events
6 dated reports · 3 Jun 2025 to 24 Jun 2025Fire reported; crew rescued
The Coast Guard received a distress alert at about 3:15 p.m. All 22 crew members left in a lifeboat and were rescued by Cosco Hellas. Three nearby merchant vessels responded.
No new position in this report.
Reported points only. No inferred track. Playback advances every 5 seconds.
Milestone 1 of 6: 3 Jun 2025. Fire reported; crew rescued. No new position in this report.
Fire reported; crew rescued
The Coast Guard received a distress alert at about 3:15 p.m. All 22 crew members left in a lifeboat and were rescued by Cosco Hellas. Three nearby merchant vessels responded.
NOAA records the incident area
NOAA opened its response record with an approximate position southwest of Adak. This is the incident record's area point, rather than a time-stamped AIS fix.
NOAA approximate incident position (47.820°, -179.747°)
Salvage personnel arrive
Gretchen Dunlap arrived with salvage personnel and an assessment began. An overflight the previous day saw no signs of pollution. Responders tracked the vessel using overflights, on-scene reports and NOAA drift analysis.
Vessel capsizes and sinks
NOAA records a rapidly increasing port list followed by sinking by the stern. Its final reported coordinate describes the location before the ship went down, in water about 5,000 metres deep.
Last known position before sinking (45.288°, -179.236°)
After the sinking, monitoring continues
The Coast Guard announced the sinking and reported no visible signs of pollution at that time. Garth Foss and Salvage Worker remained on scene to assess the area; further response equipment was being sent.
Navigation warning reports a sinking position
NAVAREA XII 392/2025 reports Morning Midas sank at 45°16.88′N, 179°14.13′W and asks nearby vessels to report oil sheens or debris. This differs slightly from NOAA's last known position before sinking; it is a reported sinking position, not a seabed survey.
Sinking position reported in NAVAREA XII 392/2025 (45.281°, -179.236°)
Details in the record
Reading this account
NOAA gives the last known position before sinking; the later NAVAREA warning reports a slightly different sinking position. Neither is a surveyed seabed wreck location. The reports do not provide a continuous track or establish the cause of the fire.
A warning being cancelled does not establish that a vessel was recovered or a hazard disappeared. The outcome above comes from the cited follow-up reports.
Original sources
Account checked 6 Sept 2026. Follow-up is reviewed from these sources; this is not a live incident feed.
- 1.Fire on board M/V Morning Midas; North Pacific ↗NOAA IncidentNews
- 2.Corrected initial response: Morning Midas fire ↗U.S. Coast Guard · 4 Jun 2025
- 3.Update 2: salvage personnel reach Morning Midas ↗U.S. Coast Guard · 9 Jun 2025
- 4.Update 3: Morning Midas capsizes and sinks ↗U.S. Coast Guard · 24 Jun 2025
Related records in our archive
Original source text, preserved separately from this account.
NOAAORR-10974 NOAA response record
Fire on board M/V Morning Midas; North Pacific. North Pacific. 1. USCG responded to a fire on board the M/V Morning Midas, a 600-foot car carrier. The vessel was located 265 nautical miles (NM) southwest of Adak, Alaska, outside of the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The crew abandoned ship after failing to extinguish the fire and were transferred to nearby merchant vessels that responded. No injuries were reported. Smoke and flames were observed 6/03-6/13/2025. On 6/23/2025, the vessel capsized and sank by the stern following a rapidly increasing port list. The last known position prior to sinking was Lat: 45° 17.28’ N, Lng: 179° 14.17’ W, approximately 160 NM outside of the EEZ boundary, 360 NM from nearest land, and more than 6 NM from the nearest undersea cable, with a depth of 5,000 meters. The vessel had on board approximately 480,000 gallons of Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil and 110,000 gallons of marine gas oil. 2. THREAT: OIL. COMMODITY: MULTIPLE. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 650000 GALLONS. TAGS: ADRIFT. 3. POSITION 47.820N 179.747W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 10974: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/10974Open record and warning history →
NAVAREA XII 392/25 Navigational warning
NORTH PACIFIC. M/V MORNING MIDAS SANK IN 45-16.88N 179-14.13W. VESSELS IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO NAVIGATE WITH CAUTION AND REPORT PRESENCE OF OIL SHEENS OR DEBRIS TO USCG SECTOR WESTERN ALASKA AND US ARCTIC, PHONE: 907 428 4100, E-MAIL: SOUTHWESTERNAK@USCG.MIL.Open record and warning history →
HYDROPAC 1650/25 Navigational warning
NORTH PACIFIC. DNC 25. M/V MORNING MIDAS SANK IN 45-16.88N 179-14.13W. VESSELS IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO NAVIGATE WITH CAUTION AND REPORT PRESENCE OF OIL SHEENS OR DEBRIS TO USCG SECTOR WESTERN ALASKA AND US ARCTIC, PHONE: 907 428 4100, E-MAIL: SOUTHWESTERNAK@USCG.MIL.Open record and warning history →
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