More than 500 passengers have been evacuated from a ferry after it caught fire in the Caribbean.

Police say smoke was spotted aboard the Caribbean Fantasy as it travelled near Puerto Rico's north coast.

Police officer Aurelis Colon told the Associated Press that the ship has now docked in Puerto Rico.

The fire burnt aboard as the US Coast Guard conducted a mass rescue to bring passengers safely to the San Juan harbor.

No injuries have been reported and no one is missing, Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad said.


Image: Smoke can be seen coming from the ship (Twitter picture: @sassygirlpr)

The fire erupted in the engine room before spreading to the rest of the ship, another Coast Guard spokeswoman Marilyn Fajardo said.

She said passengers had slid down from the vessel into rescue rafts.

The ships run several times weekly between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

It was arriving in San Juan when the fire broke out, Mr Castrodad said.

It is unclear what caused the fire.