Three crew members have died and another three were injured following a fire aboard a Maersk-chartered container vessel at Malaysia’s Port of Tanjung Pelepas on 7 November.
The incident occurred at approximately 12:23 p.m. local time when a blaze erupted inside one of the vessel’s cargo holds while it was berthed and unloading containers.
Emergency teams, including port firefighters and two firefighting tugs, were deployed immediately to contain the fire.
Despite a rapid response, three crew members succumbed to their injuries before reaching hospital.
Authorities have identified the deceased as a Malaysian national, a British national, and a Filipino national. The three injured crew members include one Malaysian and two Filipino nationals.
The vessel involved has been confirmed as the Kyparissia, a 4,957 TEU Malta-registered containership built in 2014 and owned by Costamare.
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The vessel was operating under charter to Maersk at the time of the incident.
“We are working closely with the shipowner, the vessel’s manager, and the relevant Malaysian authorities to determine the cause of the incident,” a Maersk spokesperson stated.
Port operations at Tanjung Pelepas continued under controlled conditions while response teams secured the area and cooling operations were carried out.
An investigation is ongoing to assess the full extent of the damage and identify the cause of the explosion.
For more information:
Port of Tanjung Pelepas – https://www.ptp.com.my/
A.P. Moller-Maersk – https://www.maersk.com/
