A handout picture shows the DGzRS rescue cruiser Arkona fighting fire on the Germany-flagged, 73-metre-long oil tanker Annika after it caught fire off the Baltic Sea coast, with all seven crew members on board at the time taken ashore, according to maritime rescue services, near Kuehlungsborn, northern Germany October 11, 2024. Die Seenotretter - DGzRS/Handout via REUTERS

An oil tanker caught fire off the Baltic Sea coast of northern Germany early on Friday, and all seven crew members on board at the time were taken ashore, maritime rescue services said in a statement.

Three vessels have been deployed to the burning tanker Annika in the Mecklenburg Bay to extinguish the blaze, with several firefighting teams also en route to the site via helicopters, according to the statement.

The Germany-flagged, 73-metre-long tanker is carrying around 640 tonnes of oil, it added. The vessel is at anchor and connected to a tugboat on site.