The response began when watchstanders at the Seventeenth Coast Guard District command center received a distress alert Tuesday at approximately 3:15 p.m. The Morning Midas, a 600-foot pure car and truck carrier (PCTC), was carrying several thousand vehicles at the time of the incident, including hundreds of fully-electric and partial hybrid electric vehicles.
The Coast Guard immediately issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast, resulting in three good Samaritan vessels responding to the scene. The Coast Guard also mobilized multiple assets, including the Coast Guard Cutter Munro, a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft from Air Station Kodiak, and positioned an MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter in Adak.
All 22 crew members successfully evacuated the vessel via life raft and were rescued by the M/V Cosco Hellas, one of the responding good Samaritan vessels. No injuries were reported.
According to the Coast Guard, the vessel is estimated to be carrying approximately 350 metric tons of gas fuel and 1,530 metric tons of very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO). Its cargo consists of 3,159 vehicles, including 65 fully electric vehicles and 681 partial hybrid electric vehicles, based on reports the Coast Guard has received. According to Zodiac Maritime, the incident began around 00:00 UTC on June 3, 2025, during the vessel’s passage from Yantai, China to Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico. The ship departed China on May 26 and was expected to arrive in Mexico on June 15.