A fire broke out aboard the Morning Midas, a 600-foot Liberian-flagged cargo ship traveling from China to Mexico with more than 3,000 vehicles onboard—751 of them either fully electric or hybrid models.

Mr. Funk was the managing editor of Pleroma Media, and worked as a breaking news reporter at The Messenger after spending 25 years at Fox Television as a producer, executive producer, and digital content director.

A ship carrying about 3,000 cars to Mexico was abandoned in the middle of the Pacific Ocean after catching fire Tuesday, highlighting a growing risk to the transportation of electric vehicles.