L

ess than two weeks after a deadly ferry fire in the Sunda Strait, a passenger ship caught fire early Tuesday off the north coast of Jakarta.

The Silvia inter-island ship, carrying 260 passengers, was traveling from Tanjung Priok to Bangka Island, and caught fire 10 miles from Jakarta’s port. No fatalities were reported.

Jakarta Police water patrol director Adj. Sr. Comr. Edion said the fire started in the ship’s engine room.

“The fire began at 2:15 a.m. and was finally put out at 5:10 a.m.,” Edion said.

All the passengers on board were evacuated quickly given the ship’s proximity to Tanjung Priok.

“The ship was not too far from the port when it caught fire,” Edion said.

The ship was also carrying 40 vehicles.

The rescued passengers appeared shaken after reaching Tanjung Priok, nearly victims of yet another accident at sea in Indonesia.

“We were extremely panicked because there were moments when the ship tilted sideways. Most of us were asleep when the fire started,” one of the passengers, Gunawan, said, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Gunawan said he heard an explosion from the engine room.

“[The explosion] was so loud it jolted us from our sleep” he said.

Gunawan said panicked passengers rushed to the side of the ship looking for life vests and boats, which caused the ship to tilt.

“We were lucky the ship didn’t overturn,” he said.

With the help of the crew, passengers managed to evacuate onto lifeboats.

Some passengers managed to reach the Sahabat ferry, which was traveling near where the accident occurred.

Gunawan also said some of the Silvia’s passengers were aboard lifeboats for over an hour before they were rescued.

Transportation Ministry naval transport director Sunaryo said the National Commission on Transportation Safety (KNKT) would be launching an investigation of the accident.

At least 20 people were killed last month when the Laut Teduh II ferry, carrying 438 passengers from Merak to Bakauheni, caught fire in the Sunda Strait.

Three crew members of the Laut Teduh II have been charged for negligence in the incident.

— JP/Hans David Tampubolon