Anchorage, United States - June 04, 2025 A cargo ship carrying thousands of vehicles, including hundreds of electric cars with lithium-ion batteries, continued to burn off Alaska’s coast more than 24 hours after the fire began. The fire started Tuesday afternoon on the Morning Midas, about 1,200 miles from Anchorage, according to Zodiac Maritime, the ship’s manager. A deck loaded with electric vehicles began to smoke, prompting the crew to send a distress alert 15 minutes later. All 22 crew members evacuated on a lifeboat and were rescued by a nearby commercial vessel, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard announced it would allow the fire to burn, citing the extreme danger of lithium-ion battery explosions. No firefighting ships were in the area, and a salvage team is expected to arrive Monday. Investigators have not confirmed if the electric vehicles caused the fire, but lithium-ion batteries are known to overheat and ignite dangerous blazes. The 600-foot Morning Midas was carrying 3,000 cars, including 800 electric vehicles, and had been en route to Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico. It departed from Yantai, China, on May 26, making stops in Shanghai and Nansha before crossing the Pacific. Battery fires at sea are especially dangerous. Saltwater can worsen the risk by corroding battery materials and sparking bigger flames. In 2022, a similar blaze destroyed the Felicity Ace, another car carrier, which sank with 4,000 vehicles on board. Lithium-ion battery risks are not limited to ships. Airlines worldwide have also imposed tighter restrictions after battery-related fires onboard jets.