Oil Tanker explosion leaves five seafarers dead and 15 injured in blaze

BALI : A domestic Indonesian tanker ‘Elisabet Satu‘,caught fire off the resort island of Bali around 3 am local time on 7 August, killing five crewmen and injuring 15 more.

Indonesian police said that the 2016-built, 3,639 dwt products tanker, Elisabet Satu, manned by 21 crewmen, caught fire at Gili Tepekong in Bali’s Karangasem district while sailing to West Nusa Tenggara province.

One of the crewmen told the police that an explosion happened around the crew’s quarters as the tanker approached Gili Tepekong. The chief officer found the helmsman lying on the deck with burns on his body. Shortly after, another blast occurred, causing a blackout on the tanker, which stopped moving. The crew then called for help.

Karangasem police Chief Nengah Sadiarta said, “After checking, it was found that there was a fire in the engine room. The crew gathered at the muster station, but there were five people who did not join and were found dead.”

The five dead comprised three oilers, one machinist and one trainee machinist, who were all in the engine room. Three seafarers sustained severe burns and 12 others were being treated for minor injuries, according to Sadiarta, while only the tanker captain escaped unhurt.

The police arranged for two tugs to be sent to Elisabet Satu, and the surviving and injured crewmen were brought out around 11 am. The high temperatures in the engine room hampered the recovery of the dead crewmen’s bodies, and the removal of the corpses was completed at 12.30 pm that day.

Elisabet Satu is one of three tankers owned by PT Arta Samudera Line, and is currently moored at Labuan Amuk anchorage.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.