Fire on Maersk-chartered vessel in Malaysia kills three crew members

By Admin

11 Nov, 2025

A tragic incident occurred on November 7 at Malaysia’s Port of Tanjung Pelepas, when a fire broke out aboard a Maersk-chartered container vessel, resulting in the deaths of three crew members and injuries to three others.

The fire erupted at around 12:23 p.m. local time inside one of the vessel’s cargo holds while it was berthed and unloading containers. Emergency teams, including port firefighters and two firefighting tugs, were immediately deployed to contain the blaze. Despite a swift and coordinated response, three crew members succumbed to their injuries before reaching the hospital.

Authorities have identified the deceased as a Malaysian national, a British national, and a Filipino national. The injured crew members include one Malaysian and two Filipino nationals, who are currently under medical care.

The vessel involved has been identified as the Kyparissia, a 4,957 TEU Malta-registered containership built in 2014 and owned by Costamare. At the time of the incident, the Kyparissia was operating under charter to Maersk.

A Maersk spokesperson expressed condolences and confirmed, “We are working closely with the shipowner, the vessel’s manager, and the relevant Malaysian authorities to determine the cause of the incident.”

Port operations at Tanjung Pelepas continued under controlled conditions as emergency and response teams secured the affected area and conducted cooling operations to prevent further damage.

An investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the fire and assess the extent of the damage sustained by the vessel.

This tragic event follows a similar maritime incident last month, when a fire aboard a Wan Hai container vessel caused extensive damage to multiple containers, posing significant challenges for subsequent unloading operations.