Car carrier sailing from China carrying EVs catches fire in Pacific Ocean

A car carrier departing from China and carrying EVs was abandoned after catching fire in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday.

Smoke was initially seen rising from a deck loaded with EVs.

(Image shows smoke rising from the Morning Midas car carrier. Image credit: US Coast Guard)

A car carrier sailing from China with electric vehicles (EVs) onboard was abandoned after catching fire in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, highlighting one of the risks involved in transporting such vehicles.

The cargo ship, named Morning Midas, was loaded with about 3,000 vehicles, including 800 EVs, when it caught fire off the coast of Alaska, Reuters reported overnight, citing the ship's management company, Zodiac Maritime.

The 22 crew members safely evacuated after failing to extinguish the fire, according to London-headquartered Zodiac.

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The Liberia-flagged vessel departed from the Yantai port in China on May 26 en route to Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico, according to data from the London Stock Exchange cited by Reuters.

Smoke was initially seen rising from a deck loaded with EVs, Zodiac said. It remains unclear what brands of vehicles were on board, Reuters' report noted.

The Morning Midas is a 46,800-ton car carrier built by China's Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry in 2006, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

The demand for lithium-ion batteries, including those used in EVs, is introducing new risks to the global shipping industry, especially given the value of vehicles on large car carriers, Bloomberg reported overnight, citing a report released last month by insurance giant Allianz.

Fires caused by EVs are typically harder to extinguish and more dangerous to tackle, potentially requiring up to 8,000 gallons of water to cool lithium-ion batteries, the report noted.

Over the past few years, as China's EV industry has rapidly developed, some domestic automakers have established their own car carrier fleets.

SAIC Motor currently has the largest fleet of car carriers among Chinese automakers, with its Anji Logistics fleet already comprising dozens of vessels.

BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) is also rapidly increasing its maritime transport capacity, with its seventh car carrier launched last month.