Fire at ASL Marine's Batam shipyard kills five and injures one

ASL Marine Holdings on Saturday informed the market that a fire occurred in its shipyard in Batam, Indonesia on Sept 7.

Initial investigations confirm that the incident occurred on board a tanker that was being repaired at one of its docks, and suggest that the fire started inside and was confined to the pump room.

"Whilst this may restrict damage and deaths, nevertheless five people died and one person is injured. They were employees of our subcontractor," it said.

It added that initial investigations suggest that there was no explosion.

"We are saddened by this incident and the loss of lives, and we extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims. As a matter of priority, we will be working diligently together with our subcontractor to help the affected workers and their families and are rendering the necessary assistance to them.

"The investigation will continue and until the cause is established, work on this vessel will be suspended. We are also co-operating with the authorities in Indonesia to establish the cause of the fire."