Three Ships Burn at Muara Baru Dock, 11 Fire Engines Deployed

Three traditional ships docked at Muara Baru Pier in North Jakarta caught fire this evening. A total of 11 fire engines and 60 personnel were deployed to the scene to extinguish the blaze.

“The objects on fire are three ships, and the extinguishing process is still underway,” said Gatot Sulaeman, Head of the Operations Section of the North Jakarta and Thousand Islands Fire and Rescue Sub-Department, as reported by Antara on Thursday (13/8/2026).

The fire affected an area of 51 square metres. The three ships are known to be owned by a resident named Yakub Zainal. Firefighters began tackling the blaze at 7.50 p.m. Western Indonesia Time. As of 8.53 p.m., personnel were still working to localise the fire engulfing the vessels.

“Officers are still working at the scene,” he said.

In addition to focusing on extinguishing the fire, Gatot stated that his team is still gathering information regarding the exact cause of the fire and estimating the total losses suffered by the owner.

“We will request information from eyewitnesses at the location to determine the suspected initial cause of the fire,” Gatot revealed.

According to witness accounts, residents initially saw the fire growing large from one of the ships named KM Sabang. Residents then shouted for help and immediately contacted the fire service.

Gatot added that the ships that caught fire were used vessels that were in the process of being dismantled by the owner to salvage the timber.

“The initial ignition originated from KM Sabang and then spread to KM Baruna Jaya,” Gatot explained.