A ferry ship caught fire minutes before docking at a pier in Thailand.

The passenger vessel was around 400metres away from land when thick smoke was seen rising from its engine in Surat Thani province on October 4.

Footage shows the smoke gathering near the hull where vehicles such as sedans, pickup trucks and motorcycles were being kept.

Shocked passengers were prepared for evacuation as they were nearly embarked while the maintenance crew checked on the burning area.

Koh Phangan police station chief Poonsak Sophon Pathumrak said: ‘The fire did not spread easily because the structure was made of metal.

‘However, it was still fortunate that they were about to reach the pier when the blaze started. We were able to rescue everyone.’

Together with police officers, fire marshalls from the Koh Phangan Municipal Fire Station prioritized the evacuation of 30 passengers.

The crew was also taken to safety before they put out the fire and removed the 14 cars and 16 motorcycles from the ship.

No one was reported hurt in the incident while the cause of the fire was concluded to be from a ventilation fan that short-circuited under the ship.