A ship on fire in Antarctica just off the coastline had to have 97 of its crew members rescued Wednesday with the ship still out on sea.

It was a Chinese factory fishing ship that was rescued by a nearby Norwegian vessel. The ship did not sink.  

The crew members abandoned the burning Kai Xin and were taken aboard the Juvel about 34 miles (55 kilometers) from Chile's Bernardo O'Higgins research base near the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, Chilean officials said.

Officials also said that the ship could have been towed off the coast, but it wasn't necessary.

Capt. Juan Marcelo Villegas, maritime governor for Chile's portion of Antarctica, told The Associated Press that Chile's navy could send a tugboat from Punta Arenas, near the southern tip of South America, to tow the ship to harbor as long as it remained seaworthy.

Chile's military is mobilizing the ship to prevent any further environmental, according to the Associated Press.

"At the moment the weather conditions are pretty favorable. There's little wind and the ocean conditions are good, so, for the moment, there's no imminent risk of sinking," Villegas said.

These fishing ships create controversy because of what they are legally allowed to do.

"This Chinese fishing ship that's on fire has permission to fish for krill," Milko Schvartzman, who campaigns against overfishing for Greenpeace, said in an email. "They don't know how the ecosystem might be affected by fishing for krill, which forms part of the foundation for the entire ocean food chain," Schvartzman wrote.