London , England ( CNN ) -- A fishing ship whose crew had to be rescued from a fire is limping to port in the United Kingdom , the Maritime and Coastguard Agency told CNN Wednesday . Ninety-eight crew members were rescued from the Athena early Wednesday , while 13 remain on board to keep the fire under control and pilot the ship to port , the agency 's Claire Johns said . The container ship Vega -- which happened to be nearby when the Athena caught fire -- is accompanying the ship to Falmouth , England , where both ships are due Thursday night , she said . The rescued crew members are aboard the Vega . The rescue operation was complicated by Athena 's distance from land -- some 230 miles ( 370 kilometers ) southwest of the British Isles of Scilly and 270 miles ( 435 kilometers ) west of the Pointe Du Penmarche in Brittany , France . Because they can carry only so much fuel , British Royal Navy helicopters only had about 20 minutes over the rescue scene before having to return , according to the agency . A plane was also scrambled from France to help with communications during the rescue , the Coastguard said . The company that owns the ship does not know the cause of the fire yet , a representative said . `` Hopefully tomorrow when the firefighters come on board ( it ) will be completely extinguished and cleared and then we will know more about what happened , '' Sue Philbrow told CNN by e-mail from the Faroe Islands , where the ship is registered . Five ships responded to the emergency call to pick up crewmembers , who include Chinese , Russian , Peruvian and Scandinavian personnel , among others . The Athena is a fishing ship that processes fish on board . CNN 's Eileen Hsieh and Richard Allen Greene contributed to this report .
NEW : The ship owner does n't know the cause of the fire . Most of the crew is rescued from the Athena . It 's heading for Falmouth , England , under its own power . The vessel caught fire more than 200 miles from land .