Malaysia Evacuates Crew from Burning Car Carrier

[Brief]  The Malaysian Coast Guard reported the evacuation of 19 crewmembers from a car carrier that caught fire on December 2. The crew of 18 Filipinos and one Malaysian were safely removed and transferred to shore by a Malaysian patrol boat.

The vessel named Malaysia Star (9,300 dwt) was traveling within Malaysia from Port Klang to Kota Kinabalu in the northern part of the island of Borneo when it experienced problems. The fire was reported at 0840 local time Monday morning and the vessel dropped anchor approximately 9 nautical miles from Tanjung Laboh, Batu Pahat Johor, near the southern tip of the peninsular on the Malacca Strait.

Fire fighting efforts were reported to be continuing after the vessel was evacuated (Malaysia Maritime)

Malaysia Star is a locally owned and registered car carrier built in China in 1992. It has a capacity of 1,466 vehicles. 

Two Malaysia Maritime patrol boats and a vessel from the Marine Police Force were dispatched to the vessel. Pictures show smoke coming from the vessel with the authorities reporting the fire was near the vessel’s fuel tanks. The crew was removed from the vessel due to the dangers.

The fire fighting effort was reported to be continuing. The cause of the fire was not known, but the vessel has been cited during Port State inspections. In June the authorities in Bangladesh identified issues with the fire detection system and fire dampers. In two prior Port State inspections the authorities listed deficiencies with oil and dirty mixtures from the machinery spaces.