Smoke billows from a freight ship in the North Sea, north of the Dutch island of Ameland. AP

A fire blazed on a ship off the Dutch coast with nearly 3,000 vehicles on board on Wednesday, killing one member of the crew and injuring several others, the coastguard said.

The fire began on Tuesday night on the 199-metre Panama-registered Fremantle Highway, which was en route from Germany to Egypt, forcing several crew members to jump overboard. Dutch broadcaster NOS said all the crew were Indian.

The Panama-registered Fremantle Highway was transporting 2,857 cars from Germany to Egypt, 25 of them electric.

A coastguard spokesperson said an electric car was suspected to have caused the fire.

The ship was sailing 27 km (17 miles) north of the Dutch island of Ameland, with 23 crew onboard, when the fire started on Tuesday night, a statement said.

The 199-metre ship, which had departed from the German port of Bermenhaven, was successfully towed out of shipping lanes early on Wednesday, Dutch broadcaster NOS reported.

Coast Guard helicopters involved in the rescue operation at Rotterdam The Hague Airport, the Netherlands. AFP

The crew had tried, but failed, to extinguish the fire, the coastguard statement said.

The injured crew were taken by helicopter to medical facilities on the mainland. They suffered smoke inhalation, or were hurt during the evacuation, a spokesperson said.

Reuters