An emergency response is under way in the waters of the North Pacific Ocean after the crew of a large cargo ship carrying thousands of vehicles, including approximately 800 EVs, abandoned ship after being unable to extinguish a fire onboard.

The Morning Midas was transporting 3,000 vehicles from China to Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico, when the fire started in waters off of Alaska’s Aleutian island chain early Tuesday.

The United States Coast Guard says it was responding to the area about 300 miles southwest of Adak.

In an emailed statement to The New York Sun, Zodiac Maritime, which manages the ship, said it had initial reports of smoke emanating from one of the decks at about midnight on Tuesday.

At least some of the electric vehicles were on the deck. The crew tried to put out the fire using the ship’s onboard fire suppression system but was unsuccessful. 

The crew of 22 used lifeboats to flee the burning ship and was later picked up by a nearby merchant vessel. No injuries were reported.

The ship left China on May 26, according to a ship-tracking website, Marine Traffic. The ship was built in 2006 and is about 600 feet long. It sails under a Liberian flag.

“We are working closely with emergency responders with a tug being deployed to support salvage and firefighting operations,” the company said.

It added that its priority was to ensure the continued safety of the crew and protect the marine environment: “We would like to thank all parties involved for their assistance.”

Lithium batteries, which are used in EVs, are blamed for a growing number of fires, including in electronic devices onboard planes, but it was not known if a lithium battery was to blame for the fire on the Morning Midas.

A car carrier caught fire in the North Sea in 2023, killing one crewman. The owner of the ship said the fire was likely to have started from an EV battery.

Insurers have also raised concerns about an increasing risk of fires on car carriers, an industry site, Container News, reported.