A fire that broke out on the west pier of Benoa port on Saturday afternoon reportedly destroyed three ships belonging to PT Intimas Surya, a fish processing and export company. Thankfully, there were no human casualties though the extent of material losses is not yet known.
In his witness testimony, security guard Made Arsana, 55, said he first noticed the fire engulfing the three vessels—KN Mutiara 11, KM Mutiara 9, and KM Mutiara 5—at 3:20pm.
“At that time, I immediately called for the Pelindo [PT Pelabuhan Indonesia] fire extinguisher and was assisted by the Denpasar Fire Department to extinguish the fire,” he said, as quoted by bisnis.com.
Thanks to a joint effort by firefighters from Pelindo and Denpasar City, the blaze was extinguished within half an hour according to a report by Tribun Bali. Police are still investigating the cause of the fire.
It’s not uncommon for boats at Bali’s Benoa Bay to be affected by fires. Last year, firefighters struggled to put out a massive blaze that took out 39 fishing boats.
Investigations revealed that poor safety standards and a ‘chaotic parking system’ were to blame. At the time, Susi Pudjiastuti, Indonesia’s Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs said that the ministry would be taking steps to break up the density of boats left at the harbor.
