Five Thousand Mazdas On Floundering Transport Ship

VANCOUVER, British Columbia Jul 26, 2006; Reuters reported ythat the fate of thousands of Mazda Motor Corp. cars was uncertain Wednesday after the ship carrying them to North America rolled over on its side in the Pacific Ocean.

The automaker had 4,700 vehicles aboard the automobile carrier Cougar Ace that began taking on water on Sunday and listed so heavily that the 23 member crew had to be rescued on Monday by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The 654-foot (199.3-metre) Mitsui O.S.K. Lines ship was still afloat Wednesday with its keel and propeller out of the water, but did not appear to be sinking, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said.

A Coast Guard cutter is standing by near the Cougar Ace, which is about 230 miles (370 km) south of Alaska's Aleutian Island chain, and waiting for a salvage ship to arrive.

Mazda imports most of its vehicles to North America from Japan. The shipment aboard the Cougar Ace was bound for Vancouver, British Columbia, Tacoma, Washington, and then Port Hueneme near Ventura, California, said Mazda spokesman Jeremy Barnes.

More than half the cars on board are Mazda 3 models, the car maker's best selling vehicle, he said. Another quarter of the cars are Mazda's all-new 2007 CX7, a crossover utility vehicle, Barnes said.

The shipment is fully insured against loss, Barnes said, adding that Mazda had been unable to verify the condition of the cargo with Mitsui since the accident.

"We just don't know," he said. "We don't know the condition of the cargo and whether it will have to be scrapped."

Mazda's U.S. sales were up 4 percent in the first six months of 2006. The company is Canada's third best selling import make.

The Coast Guard said nobody is permitted to board the stricken vessel, but the agency said it was making preparations in case the salvage company wants to tow the Cougar Ace into Alaskan waters.

(with reporting for Reuters by Kevin Krolicki in Detroit)