Chronology of Explosion of Cargo Ship Carrying 3,000 LPG Cylinders in Selayar Kills Two

A motorised vessel (KM Cipta Anugerah) exploded and burned severely at Rauf Rahman Port, Kepulauan Selayar Regency, South Sulawesi, killing two people. The explosion occurred whilst the vessel was being requested to shift position as another ship was preparing to dock.

Abdul Rahman, head of the fire and rescue division at Selayar’s Civil Service Police Unit, Fire Service, and Rescue Agency, stated that the incident occurred on Monday 16 March at approximately 06:30 Western Indonesia Time. The vessel had been preparing to depart for Pasimarannu District.

Rahman revealed that the explosion happened when the ship was requested to move from its mooring position because another vessel, the Dharma Kartika, needed to dock at the same berth. When the engine was started, a powerful explosion suddenly erupted from the stack of thousands of gas cylinders.

“Because the mooring place for the Dharma Kartika vessel was occupied by KM Cipta Anugerah, it was requested to shift from that location. At that moment, there was suddenly an explosion,” Rahman said.

Fire service personnel suspect that gas leakage occurred, triggered by electrical short-circuiting in the ship’s engine compartment. The vessel’s cargo hold, which was crammed full of gas cylinders, created extremely high air pressure conditions.

“We suspect there was electrical short-circuiting, and simultaneously there was also gas leakage. With gas leakage present, even a small spark can cause immediate ignition,” he explained.

In addition to carrying thousands of gas cylinders, the vessel was also transporting several drums containing fuel oil. This complicated the firefighting efforts during the extinguishing operation.

As a result of the incident, two people died: Captain Aryadin, aged 40, who became trapped amid the flames, and Jaya, aged 40, who became trapped in the engine room.

“Two people have died,” said Ronaldhi, head of Selayar’s Search and Rescue Post.