Burning cargo ship carrying 3,000 vehicles abandoned off Alaska

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.

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 U.S. Coast Guard.

The vessel, Morning Midas, was located 300 miles (482.8 km) 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.