A cargo ship carrying new vehicles to Mexico sank in the Pacific Ocean weeks after the fire incident.
According to CNN, the cargo ship named The Morning Midas sank in the international waters off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands chain on Monday, weeks after the crew evacuated after failing to extinguish an onboard fire.
The London-based ship management company Zodiac Maritime stated that the fire, bad weather and water seepage altogether caused the ship to sink in waters about 16,404 feet (5,000 metres) deep and about 415 miles (770 kilometres) from land.
Petty Officer Cameron Snell, an Alaska-based US Coast Guard spokesperson, said, “There is no visible pollution. Right now we also have vessels on scene to respond to any pollution.”
The cargo ship was carrying about 3,000 new vehicles, including 70 fully electric and about 680 hybrid vehicles, to a major Pacific port in Mexico.
However, it is unclear at the moment whether any of the cars were removed from the ship before it sank.
The 22-member crew who evacuated in lifeboats was rescued by a nearby merchant marine vessel. They arrived back safely without any injuries, days after the fire disabled the vessel while two salvage tugs containing pollution control equipment remained at the scene to monitor signs of pollution or debris.
The company announced that it will send another specialised pollution response vessel to the location as part of precautionary measures.
