KM Umsini Burns At Makassar Port, Pelni Says No Casualties

Firefighters sprayed water to extinguish the fire that burned KM Umsini at Makassar Port, South Sulawesi, Sunday (9/6/2024). (ANTARA PHOTO/Hasrul Said)

PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Pelni) said there were no casualties due to the fire incident experienced by KM Umsini while docking at Soekarno-Hatta Port, Makassar, South Sulawesi (South Sulawesi), Sunday, June 9 in the morning.

"Currently, the fire has been successfully extinguished and there have been no casualties," said Head of the Pelni Company Secretariat Evan Eryanto in a statement in Jakarta, Sunday, June 9, which was confiscated by Antara.

Pelni stated that the fire incident was experienced by KM Umsini while docking at Soekarno-Hatta Port, Makassar, Sunday, June 9. Currently, the fire has been successfully extinguished and there have been no casualties from the incident.

Evan revealed that the source of the fire was first discovered at 04.20 WITA, which allegedly came from sparks on an auxiliary motorbike in the engine room.

"The fire was successfully extinguished at 09.03 WITA," said Evan.

He explained that the crew of KM Umsini (ABK) quickly tried to extinguish the fire using CO2 fire extinguishers available on board.

"And at the same time drop passengers off at the dock. Currently, we are continuing to coordinate with all relevant parties," explained Evan.

At the time of the incident, continued Evan, there were 1,677 people on board to Makassar, Surabaya, Kijang, and Jakarta.

Evan added that the next passenger would be transported using another Pelni ship to pass through Makassar.

"For passengers bound for Surabaya and Kijang, they will be transported using KM Labobar on Tuesday, June 11, while further passengers to Jakarta will be taken by KM Dorolonda on the same day, all departing from Makassar," added Evan.

Furthermore, Evan said that the impact and cause of the fire on the ship would be carried out immediately after the cooling process was complete.

Evan also thanked all parties who assisted in the fire handling process, including the Makassar City fire department, who had alerted eight fire engines at the pier when the incident occurred.

"We apologize for the inconvenience felt by passengers in this incident. We also appeal to all potential customers to be able to adjust their journey," said Evan.