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Weeks before its sinking, the Morning Midas experienced a raging fire that ultimately led to the crew abandoning ship after failing to extinguish it. The blaze was reported to have been intense enough to render the ship "dead in the water," floating approximately 415 miles from land before it succumbed to the water, sinking into a depth of 16,400 feet. The vessel was laden with fuel — 350 metric tons of marine gas oil and 15,000 tons of low sulfur fuel oil — raising concerns about potential pollution in the pristine Alaskan waters.