An abandoned freighter ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean after catching fire on Tuesday was carrying vehicles from several Chinese automakers, according to sources familiar with the matter.
O – Among them, Chery Automobile Co. and Great Wall Motor Co. – bound for Mexico. It is not yet clear which brand had the electric vehicle responsible for the start of the fire, according to the sources, which requested anonymity because it is preliminary information.
The ship had departed from the city of Yantai, east of China, where there is a Joint Venture factory between Saic Motor Corp. and GM, which produces the Buick Envision model. The local media reported that the company responsible for chartering the vessel would be ANJI Logistics, SAIC’s subsidiary.
According to Zodiac Maritime, the ship’s management company, the smoke began to be seen at one of the coves on Tuesday. The load included about 800 electric vehicles. The crew tried to contain the flames, but the fire went out of control. Rescue and fire fighting teams were mobilized.
The United States Coast Guard reported that the fire took place about 300 miles (approximately 480 km) south of Adak Island, Alaska. The 22 crew were safely evacuated and transferred to a nearby merchant ship.
According to one of the sources, the Great Wall Motor had about 140 vehicles on board, but none of them were electric and were neither located on the deck where the fire started.
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Chery preferred not to comment on the case. Great Wall Motor did not immediately respond to interview requests. Links and emails sent to Anji Logistics have not been answered either.
