A cargo ship carrying approximately 3,000 vehicles, including 800 electric cars, caught fire late Tuesday night off the coast of Alaska.

All 22 crew members on board were safely evacuated after being unable to extinguish the fire, according to the ship’s management company, Zodiac Maritime.

The crew boarded a lifeboat and were subsequently rescued by the merchant vessel Cosco Hellas, which rushed to assist. Cosco Hellas is registered in Piraeus, Greece.

The burning vessel, sailing under the Liberian flag, had departed from China on May 26 with Mexico as its destination. According to the company, smoke appeared to originate from the deck where electric vehicles were loaded. The specific car brands on board were not disclosed.

It is worth noting that fires caused by electric vehicles are particularly dangerous, as they are difficult to extinguish and can reignite for days.

The Coast Guard deployed aircraft and a vessel to assist, while three other ships were already at the scene.

This is not the first such incident. In 2022, a ship carrying 4,000 luxury vehicles — including Porsches and Bentleys — sank off the Azores two weeks after a fire broke out onboard.

Fires on car and container ships are a significant problem for insurance companies. Steamship Mutual, the insurance company covering the Morning Midas, declined to comment on the incident.

According to Allianz Commercial, such incidents reached record levels in 2024. As highlighted in Allianz’s 2025 report, “the risk remains high due to the large size of these ships and the difficulty in managing fires and rescue operations.”