The Indonesian ferry Dumai Express 15 caught fire in Malacca Strait on 2 nautical miles off Tanjungsamak. The flames started on the upper deck of the vessel, which was en route to Pulau Batam with hundreds of people on board. The tent and cardboard box started smoking and extended info fire. The crew took immediate actions and succeeded to extinguish the flames within several minutes. However, accident caused panic among the passengers and big mess on board of the ferry. After fire was extinguished, the crew needed about half an hour to calm the situation and to resume the voyage. Fortunately during the accident and further panic there were no injuries among the people on board.

The investigation showed that fire started by cigarette. The incident was reported to the local authorities, which will make a full inspection of the ship after calling at Pulau Batam. The ferry did not suffered any serious damages during the fire.

The Indonesia high speed ferry Dumai Express 15 (IMO: 8740852) has overall length of 26.00 m, moulded beam of 8.00 m and maximum draft of 3.00 m. The gross tonnage of the ship is 147 GRT.