By Jite Eriabie
A fire aboard a tanker that was undergoing repairs at ASL Marine’s shipyard in Batam, Indonesia killed five people and injured one last Thursday, the shipbuilder has confirmed.
The company said the fire occurred on 7 September 2017 on board a tanker a tanker that was being repaired at one of the company’s dry docks.
Initial investigations indicated that the fire started inside the pump room and was confined to the area. There was no explosion, the company said.
ASL Marine’s Board of Directors has confirmed that five people have died and one person was injured as a result of the fire. The victims were employees of a subcontractor at the yard.
“We are saddened by this incident and the loss of lives, and we extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims,” said a statement from ASL Marine’s Board of Directors.
“As a matter of priority, we will be working diligently together with our subcontractor to help the affected workers and their families and are rendering the necessary assistance to them,” the Board said.
An investigation has been launched to establish the cause of the fire.
Work has been suspended aboard the vessel where the fire occurred.
ASL Marine is a Singapore Exchange-listed marine services group that is engaged in shipbuilding, ship repair and conversion, marine vessel chartering, marine engineering and related services worldwide. The company has two shipyards located in Batam, and three others in Singapore and China.
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