June 28 (Reuters) - Electric-vehicle firm Fisker is

recalling more than 12,000 Ocean vehicles to fix an issue where

exterior door handles can stick and fail to open, the company

said on Friday, marking its third recall this month.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

(NHTSA) has four open investigations into a variety of issues

related to the Ocean SUV that was meant to compete with Tesla's

best-selling Model Y crossover.

Once a high-flying EV startup, Fisker filed for bankruptcy

protection earlier this month after burning through cash in an

attempt to ramp up production and deliver its Ocean SUVs.

"A door that fails to open can prevent occupants from

exiting in an emergency, increasing the risk of injury," the

regulator said, adding that the company will replace the faulty

door handles free of charge.

Fisker in a notice asked its dealers in the United States,

Canada and Europe to stop sales of the Ocean vehicles in

inventory and inspect for the issue.

The company said in a statement 8,204 Ocean SUVs in the

United States, 513 in Canada and 3,806 in Europe were being

recalled, taking the total figure to 12,523 units.

Customers have complained widely on social media platforms

of issues regarding the key fob not unlocking the car at times

and the door failing to open.

Earlier this month, Fisker recalled thousands of cars in

North America and Europe due to faulty software and

non-compliance with safety standards.

Fisker is the second automaker by famed car designer Henrik

Fisker to file for bankruptcy protection. The first outfit,

Fisker Automotive, filed for bankruptcy in 2013 after a battery

failure in its Karma plug-in hybrid electric vehicle resulted in

a recall and substantial associated costs.

(Reporting by Chandni Shah and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru;

Editing by Devika Syamnath)