INDONESIA – Ten Workers Dead After Tanker Fire in Batam

October 15, 2025

A deadly fire on the tanker Federal II claimed ten lives and injured eighteen others early Wednesday in Batam, part of Indonesia’s Riau Islands province.

Early-Morning Blaze

The fire broke out around 4 a.m. local time (21:00 GMT Tuesday) while the vessel was in dry dock at a Batam shipyard. The city lies about 20 kilometers by sea from Singapore. All of the victims were working aboard the ship when the incident occurred.

Investigation Underway

Police chief Zaenal Arifin said the Federal II was not transporting oil at the time and had been docked for repair work. The cause of the blaze is still being investigated, and authorities have not yet confirmed who owns the tanker. Several of the injured suffered severe burns and remain in hospital.

Previous Incident in June

This is the second fatal shipyard fire in Batam in recent months. In June, a separate vessel under repair caught fire, killing four workers and injuring nine. Investigators in that case identified two suspects accused of failing to follow safety procedures.

Indonesia