July 24, 2006 – The Cougar Ace tips its Mazda cargo

On the night of July 23, 2006 the Singapore flagged cargo ship Cougar Ace was south of the Aleutian Islands heading from Japan to Vancouver, British Columbia, with further stops scheduled in Tacoma, Washington and Port Hueneme, California, carrying a cargo of 4,812 vehicles, including 4,703 Mazdas. The total value of the cargo was $117,000,000. During an exchange of ballast water the ship developed a 60-degree list to port, which may have been caused by a large wave striking the vehicle during the ballast transfer. The crew of the the ship had to be rescued and it was on this day 10 years ago that they were saved by the US Coast Guard and the Alaska Air National Guard.  Mazda initial reported minimal damage to “some” of the cars. The ship was uprighted and pulled to Portland, Oregon for inspection and repair. On December 15, 2006  Mazda announced it would scrap all of the vehicle’s on board. The airbags on each and every car were deployed and the cars were crushed onsite at the Port of Portland by Pacific Car Crushing. The last Mazda from the shipment was crushed May 6, 2008. Pics:The Cougar AceThe cars from the Cougar Ace, heading to the crusher.