The KM Kirana I ship, an interprovincial ferry owned by PT Darma Lautan Utama, caught fire on Sunday, (11/8), at around 15.30 WIB. The ship caught fire while anchoring in the waters of Tanjung Emas Port, Semarang, around 3 nautical miles from the port pier, at coordinates 110°24’564″ E 6°55”067″ S.
The ship arrived from Sampit Port on Saturday (10/8) and was supposed to continue its voyage back to Sampit on Tuesday, (13/8). However, on Sunday (11/8) the crew heard an explosion from the middle deck and saw the fire spreading. Although extinguishing efforts had been made, the fire could not be controlled, so the crew were forced to abandon the ship by jumping into the sea.
According to the statement of the Director of Water Police of Central Java Police, Senior Commissioner Hariadi, 52 crew members were successfully rescued without any fatalities. Among the crew members, 21 were core crew members, 24 were vendor crew members, and 7 were technicians. The crew members who jumped into the sea were successfully rescued by the Dit Polairud Ship of Central Java Police and tug boats TB. Nusantara VIII, TB. Krisna 315, and TB. Satria Laksana 127.
“We from the Dit Polairud Polda Jateng managed to save 21 ship crew and the extinguishing process was carried out by five tugboats belonging to PT Pelindo Semarang,” explained Kombes Hariadi.
He added that the cause of the fire was still under further investigation. Senior Commissioner Hariadi also said that the Ditpolairud Polda Jateng had taken various quick actions to handle the incident, including securing the waters around the location of the incident and coordinating with KN Nakula owned by Basarnas, KT Bima 306, and KT Kresna 315 to ensure the safety of the crew and extinguish the fire that hit the ship. (N-2)
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