Crew rescued after ship carrying cars and EVs catches fire

The crew of a cargo ship carrying 3,000 vehicles to Mexico, including 800 electric vehicles, abandoned ship after they could not control a fire in waters off Alaska’s Aleutian island chain.

Smoke was initially seen coming from the deck loaded with electric vehicles Tuesday, according to a Wednesday statement from the ship’s management company, London-based Zodiac Maritime.

There were no reported injuries among the 22 crew members of the Morning Midas.

Crew members abandoned ship and were later transferred from lifeboats to a nearby merchant vessel in the North Pacific Ocean, roughly 300 miles (485 kilometers) southwest of Adak Island in Alaska’s Aleutian chain. Adak is about 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometers) west of Anchorage, the state’s largest city.

The crew initiated emergency firefighting procedures with the ship’s onboard fire suppression system, but they couldn’t bring the flames under control.

“The relevant authorities have been notified, and we are working closely with emergency responders, with a tug being deployed to support salvage and firefighting operations,” a statement from the management company said. “Our priorities are to ensure the continued safety of the crew and protect the marine environment.”

The U.S. Coast Guard said it is sending air crews to Adak and a ship to the area.

The 600-foot (183-meter) Morning Midas, a car and truck carrier, was built in 2006 and sails under a Liberian flag. The cars left Yantai, China, on May 26, according to the industry site marinetraffic.com. They were being shipped to Mexico’s major Pacific port of Lázaro Cárdenas.

—By Mark Thiessen, Associated Press