The crew of a cargo ship carrying around 3,000 vehicles, including 800 electric vehicles, abandoned it off the coast of Alaska after a fire broke out onboard, its operator, Zodiac Maritime, said on Wednesday (Jun 4).
The 22 crew members were safely evacuated from the ship after they failed to put out the fire, Zodiac said as it focuses on salvaging the vessel.
They were evacuated via lifeboat and were being transferred to a nearby merchant vessel in tandem with the US Coast Guard.
The vessel, Morning Midas, was located 482.8km southwest of Adak in Alaska, the Coast Guard said on its X account.
The Liberia-flagged ship left China’s Yantai port on May 26 and was on the way to Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico, according to LSEG data.
Smoke was initially seen rising from a deck loaded with EVs, the company said. It is not clear what brand of vehicles the ship was carrying.
EV-related fires on ships are challenging to extinguish due to the heat generated and the risk of reignition, which could persist for days.