The Malaysian Coast Guard has reported that 19 crew members were evacuated from the car carrier, Malaysia Star (9,300 dwt), after it caught fire on Monday.
A Coast Guard patrol boat safely removed and transferred to shore the vessel’s entire crew of 18 Filipinos and one Malaysian, the Coast Guard said.
The Malaysia Star was travelling within Malaysia from Port Klang to Kota Kinabalu in the northern part of the island of Borneo when it started to experience problems.
The vessel reported the fire on board at 8.40am local time on Monday before dropping anchor approximately nine nautical miles from Tanjung Laboh, near the southern tip of the peninsular on the Malacca Strait.
Two Malaysia Maritime patrol boats and a Marine Police Force vessel were dispatched to assist the car carrier.
According to the Coast Guard, firefighting efforts continued after the crew had been safely evacuated. The cause of the fire is unknown at this stage although it was reported to be near the vessel’s fuel tanks.
Malaysia Star has previously been mentioned during port state inspections. In Bangladesh, in June, authorities identified problems with the fire detection system and fire dampers, while deficiencies with oil and dirty mixtures from the machinery spaces were cited during two earlier inspections.
Malaysia Star is a locally owned and registered car carrier with a capacity of 1,466 vehicles. It was built in China in 1992.
