A cargo ship that caught fire earlier this month in the Pacific Ocean has sunk, its manager has said. The Morning Midas, which was left abandoned as it caught fire, was carrying about 3,000 vehicles, among which around 800 were electric vehicles.

Electric vehicles contain lithium-ion batteries, which are generally safe but can overheat and ignite if damaged.

The shipping company said that the cargo ship had sunk on June 23. Zodiac Maritime in a statement further said that the damage caused by the fire was compounded by heavy weather, and subsequently water entered inside the vessel, causing it to sink.

“Damage caused by the fire, compounded by heavy weather and subsequent water ingress, caused the Morning Midas to sink at around 16.35 local time zone (UTC -9) on 23 June, in waters approximately 5,000 metres deep and 360 nautical miles from land,” the manager said in its statement.

Morning Midas, the cargo ship, caught fire earlier this month, with smoke initially seen emanating from a deck carrying electric vehicles.

What happened to Morning Midas?

Morning Midas, a cargo ship carrying 3,000 vehicles including 800 electric vehicles, caught a fire on June 3 in waters off Alaska's Aleutian island chain. The crew of the ship abandoned it after they were unable to control the blaze.

A large plume of smoke was initially seen at the ship's stern coming from the deck loaded with electric vehicles, photos shared by the US Coast Guard showed, after which Zodiac Maritime gave a confirmation in a statement.

“The relevant authorities have been notified, and we are working closely with emergency responders with a tug being deployed to support salvage and firefighting operations,” it had said in a statement.

There were 22 people onboard the ship, all of who were safe. The crew evacuated on a lifeboat before being rescued by another private vessel.

The US Coast Guard sent aircrews to Adak and a ship to the area.

The 600-foot (183-metre) Morning Midas, a car and truck carrier, was built in 2006 and sails under a Liberian flag.

The cars left Yantai, China, on May 26, according to the industry site marinetraffic.com. They were being shipped to Lazaro Cardenas, a major Pacific port in Mexico. (Mint)