At 2:15 pm local time on June 24 (3:15 pm Singapore time), a fire broke out on the floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel Federal II during maintenance at the PT ASL shipyard in Indonesia.
The accident caused 4 deaths and 5 injuries. The injured are receiving treatment, 4 of whom suffered serious burns and 1 suffered minor injuries. The victims were all workers involved in the maintenance of the Federal II. Their identities have been confirmed and they are all Indonesian.
Due to restrictions in the shipyard area, firefighting and evacuation work was carried out only by internal shipyard safety personnel. The fire is now under control.
Witnesses described: “At the time of the incident, workers were cutting the fuel tank of the hull. Suddenly, the flames spread violently and caused an explosion. There were many workers in the cabin at the time. The scene was in chaos and we fled in panic.”
The fire was suspected to have originated from sparks during the fuel tank cutting operation, which ignited the gas or flammable substances in the fuel tank, causing a violent explosion and spreading the fire. The specific cause of the accident is under investigation.
The vessel database shows that the Federal II was converted from an Aframax tanker and delivered in 1990. The vessel is owned by PT Eastern Jason of Indonesia and fully managed by International Andromeda Shipping of Monaco.