Indonesia: Two crew members killed after fire broke on Pertamina-chartered tanker

Indonesia’s state energy firm PT Pertamina on Monday (27 March) said two crew members were killed and one is missing after a fire broke out of an oil tanker carrying fuel to the Ampenan Integrated Terminal and Sanggar Fuel Terminal on the islands of Bali and Lombok. 

Pertamina said MT Kristin is a ship owned by PT Hanlyn Jaya Mandiri and chartered by Pertamina to transport fuel to the terminals. 

Media reports stated the vessel was carrying 5,900 kilolitres of fuel when the fire started at 2.50pm on 26 March. 

The ship had 17 crew on board where 14 crew were immediately evacuated on 26 March; Pertamina reported them to be in a safe and secure condition.

However, the firm said two of the three missing crew members have been found dead while one is still missing. 

The firm said it is coordinating with all relevant authorities for incident management, starting from the Harbor Masters and Port Authority (KSOP), Basarnas and the SAR Team, Pelindo, POLAIRUD, and other parties.

Together with the joint team coordinated by Basarnas, the company is intensely coordinating the search for the missing crew member of the MT Kristin. 

“Pertamina expresses its deepest condolences for the ship’s crew and also the families affected by the incident,” Pertamina Corporate Secretary Muh. Aryomekka Firdaus said on Monday.  

“Basarnas will still carry out another search to find one crew member who has not been found in the incident area starting this morning, Monday, for the next seven days. Let’s pray that the search process can run smoothly and the ship’s crew can be found soon.”

Regarding the condition of the fuel cargo on board the MT Kristin, Pertamina said it is currently observed to be safe and no oil spills have been found. 

“Because the fire point came from the front mooring of the ship and did not directly affect the ship’s fuel tank,” he said. 

The Pertamina team has also prepared an oil boom with a total length of 300 meters to anticipate an oil spill. 

The MT Kristin ship is currently in the process of pulling out or towing out from the location to the nearest safe port. 

In a later statement, the company said it successfully carried out salvage operations on the vessel and it is currently docked the PT Pantai Damai Sejahtera (PDS) pier, West Lombok.

According to Pertamina on 29 March, ship owner Hanlyn Jaya Mandiri, also stated in a separate statement that it was ready to take full responsibility for the impacts arising from the incident.

“We are fully responsible as a ship owner for ensuring the safety of crew members, ship cargo, ship handling, mitigating risks for environmental impacts, and we are ready to cooperate with related parties to jointly carry out the necessary steps both in the context of inspection and investigation,” Hanlyn Jaya Mandiri said. 

Update: As of 12.09pm today, Indonesian media reported the missing crew has been found floating in his work clothes.  

Photo credit: Pertamina
Published: 30 March, 2023