Three fishermen are dead and five others remain missing after a fire tore through a fishing vessel in the Malacca Strait in the early hours of April 7. The vessel, the KM Sumber Indah II, was carrying 21 people when the disaster struck, leaving rescuers racing against time to locate the remaining crew members.
The tragedy unfolded as the crew was engaged in anchovy fishing, roughly 25 kilometers from the coast. While 13 survivors were pulled from the water by a nearby vessel, the search for the missing continues, coordinated by the Indonesian Navy and the National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS).
Among those confirmed dead are fishermen identified as Iyan, Jahar, and Buitin. The search effort is currently focused on finding five other crew members: Aris, Roy, Lubis, Ambon, and one man who remains unidentified. Colonel Wahyu Kurniawan, chief spokesman for the Navy Regional Command (Kodaeral) I, confirmed on April 8 that search operations are ongoing.
A sequence of explosions
The KM Sumber Indah II, skippered by Aisu, had departed from Belawan Port on the afternoon of April 6, heading eastward. After sailing approximately 25.75km, the crew stopped to deploy their trawl for anchovies. Following several hours of work, the crew had taken a break when the situation turned critical.
According to Colonel Wahyu, the fire was preceded by a mechanical failure. A crew member, identified as Mr. Aliman, noticed the ship’s engine was overheating and attempted to warn his colleagues. However, before the alert could be fully communicated, a series of explosions ripped through the engine room.
Investigators believe the first blast originated in the main turbo due to the overheating engine. This initial explosion triggered a second, more violent blast from a 12kg liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) canister stored in close proximity to the engine. The resulting inferno spread rapidly across the vessel, forcing the crew to jump overboard into the Malacca Strait to escape the flames.
Rescue and recovery timeline
The survival of 13 crew members is attributed to the proximity of the KM Mandiri, another fishing boat operating in the area. The Mandiri reached the survivors approximately 30 minutes after the explosions occurred, scooping 13 men from the water. While two of the rescued fishermen suffered light burns, three others were recovered dead from the sea.
| Timeframe | Event |
|---|---|
| April 6, Afternoon | Departure from Belawan Port heading eastward. |
| April 7, 2:00 AM | Engine overheating followed by turbo and LPG explosions. |
| April 7, 2:30 AM | KM Mandiri rescues 13 survivors from the water. |
| April 7, 8:00 AM | Survivors and three deceased arrive at Belawan Port. |
Ongoing investigation into maritime safety
As the search for the five missing fishermen continues, authorities are working to determine if safety protocols were breached. The wreckage of the KM Sumber Indah II is currently being towed back to Belawan Port for a detailed forensic examination.
Hendri Barus, head of the North Sumatra Water and Air Police’s law enforcement subdirectorate, stated that the police are actively interviewing the surviving crew members to reconstruct the final moments before the explosion. The presence of a commercial LPG canister near a high-heat engine room is a focal point of the inquiry, as such storage often poses significant risks in maritime environments.
This incident follows a pattern of vessel fires in the region. In a previous occurrence at the Gabion fishing port in Belawan, the Medan Fire and Rescue Agency struggled to contain a blaze for four hours due to a fully loaded fuel tank. In that instance, agency head Wandro Malau noted that firefighters had to deluge the lower sections of the vessel specifically to prevent a catastrophic explosion—a scenario that mirrors the volatility seen aboard the Sumber Indah II.
The loss of life and the ongoing disappearance of five crew members highlight the precarious nature of little-scale commercial fishing in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. For the families in Belawan, the focus remains on the hope that the remaining fishermen might still be found.
The next official update is expected from the National Search and Rescue Agency as they evaluate the search grid and determine whether to expand the operation area.
Do you have information regarding maritime safety standards for fishing vessels? Share your thoughts or experiences in the comments below.
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