A general cargo ship caught fire just as it was pulling into Tanjung Perak port in Surabaya, Indonesia, on 13 October.
The 2002-built 4,525 dwt LIT Enterprise, which has 274 TEU of container capacity, is engaged in coastal transportation around Indonesia.
Owned by PT Samudera Lintas Indonesia Timur, the ship was acquired second-hand in late 2015.
LIT Enterprise was carrying 220 empty containers and agricultural produce that were loaded from Atapupu port in East Nusa Tenggara Province.
Just as the ship was about to dock at Selatan pier, its captain detected vibration from the engine room at around 4.20 pm local time.
East Java regional police representative Iptu Guntur Panit Polair told local media that as the ship was berthing, smoke was seen coming from the engine room, adding that preliminary investigations pointed to a short circuit.
“That was just the beginning. The fire soon spread to the main structure of the ship,” he pointed out.
Photos from Command Centre Surabaya show water being sprayed at the flames, from fire tugs on the water and fire engines at the pier.
The fire was put out in just under three hours and no one was hurt. LIT Enterprise remains berthed at Tanjung Perak, awaiting damage assessment.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
