MALAYSIA – Three Dead, Three Injured After Fire on Maersk-Chartered Container Ship

Three crew members were killed and another three injured after a fire erupted aboard a Maersk-chartered container ship in Malaysia’s Port of Tanjung Pelepas on Friday.

Emergency teams were alerted at around 12:23 p.m. local time, when a blaze broke out in one of the vessel’s cargo holds while it was berthed and unloading containers. Firefighters and two tugboats equipped for firefighting support were immediately dispatched to the scene.

Despite the rapid intervention, three individuals had already died before they could be transferred to a hospital. Authorities later confirmed the deceased as a Malaysian national, a British national, and a Filipino national. The three injured crew members consist of one Malaysian and two Filipino nationals.

The vessel involved is the Kyparissia, a Costamare-owned, Malta-registered container ship built in 2014, with a capacity of 4,957 TEU. The ship was operating under charter to Maersk at the time of the incident.

According to a Maersk spokesperson, the fire followed an explosion inside the affected hold, although the cause of the explosion has not yet been determined. Maersk stated it is working closely with the shipowner, the vessel’s manager, and Malaysian authorities as investigations continue, and will provide further updates when more information becomes available.

Photo credit: Ivan Meshkov. All rights reserved.