Burning cargo ship carrying 3,000 vehicles abandoned off Alaska

The 22 crew members were safely evacuated 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.

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. 

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. 

The Coast Guard said that aircrew and a cutter ship have been sent to assist with the situation and three vessels were already on the scene.