A cargo ship carrying approximately 3,000 vehicles caught fire off the southern coast of Alaska and was abandoned by its crew. The vessel remains adrift in the Pacific Ocean. All 22 crew members were rescued safely, with no injuries reported.

According to reports from Reuters and Bloomberg, the vessel involved is the Morning Midas, operated by Zodiac Maritime, a London-based international ship management company. In a statement issued on June 4, the company said that crew members initially spotted smoke on the deck and activated firefighting procedures. When efforts to contain the fire failed, they made the decision to abandon the ship.

The crew evacuated in lifeboats and were later transferred to a merchant vessel participating in the rescue operation, under coordination by the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard said the incident occurred at approximately 3:15 p.m. local time on June 3, about 300 miles (480 kilometers) south of Adak Island, Alaska.

The Coast Guard deployed both air and maritime assets to the site, supported by three civilian vessels. All crew members were rescued without injuries, according to official statements.

The Morning Midas is a roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) ship designed to transport cars and trucks. Measuring 183 meters in length with a gross tonnage of 46,800, the vessel was built in 2006 by Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry Co. in China and is currently registered under the Liberian flag.

The cause of the fire remains unknown. Zodiac Maritime said specialized personnel have been dispatched to support fire suppression and salvage operations. The company declined to comment on the ownership or brands of the vehicles onboard. The ship is reported to have been carrying around 800 electric vehicles, though it remains unclear whether the fire was linked to their batteries.

According to data from vessel-tracking platforms such as MarineTraffic, the Morning Midas departed Yantai, a port city in China’s Shandong Province, on May 26. Its intended destination was Lázaro Cárdenas, a major Pacific port in Mexico.

While Chinese automakers have established production facilities in Mexico and other parts of Latin America in recent years, vehicle exports directly from China continue to grow. Yantai has emerged as a key hub for shipping electric vehicles and battery systems abroad.

Incidents involving fires on ships transporting electric vehicles have raised growing industry concerns. In 2023, a cargo vessel carrying approximately 3,000 cars caught fire in Dutch waters, resulting in at least one death and multiple injuries. Dutch authorities said the blaze was believed to have started with an electric vehicle onboard.

Such incidents pose increasing risks for automakers, shipping companies, and insurers, as safety protocols for transporting EVs at sea become a critical point of focus in the global supply chain.