Explosion on Palm Oil Tanker at Batam Shipyard Kills 10 Workers and Injures 21

# Explosion on Palm Oil Tanker at Batam Shipyard Kills 10 Workers and Injures 21

*Event date: October 15, 2025*

By NeoTechNews Desk

A fire and explosion aboard a crude palm oil tanker under repair at a shipyard on Indonesia's Batam Island killed 10 people and injured 21 on October 15, 2025, in the second fatal accident involving the same vessel in a matter of months.

AP reported that the blast struck the tanker while it was docked at the Tanjunguncang seaport in the Riau Islands province. Police chief Asep Safrudin said the fire began in the ship's gas tank while repair workers were still aboard. According to AP, the fire was followed by a powerful explosion that sent other workers fleeing in panic. The death toll was put at at least 10, while 21 others were taken to nearby hospitals with burn injuries. Four of those hospitalized were reported to be in critical condition.

Marine Insight's account, also included in the supplied evidence, aligned with the core facts while adding that the vessel was MT Federal II and that it was docked for maintenance rather than carrying cargo at the time. That distinction is important because it narrows the likely operational context of the blast: the victims were not involved in a loading accident at sea, but in repair operations in port. Marine Insight said all victims were shipyard workers connected to the maintenance work.

The supplied reporting also places the disaster in a troubling pattern. AP said a similar accident on the same tanker in June killed four people and injured five others. Marine Insight reported that earlier investigators concluded sparks from welding ignited the June fire and that police had identified two people suspected of breaching safety standards in that earlier case. AP likewise said authorities were investigating why the same tanker could suffer another deadly incident so soon, this time with an even higher death toll.

That recurrence is the central fact that gives the October explosion wider significance. A single shipyard accident can be reported as a tragedy or a systems failure still under review. A second deadly blast on the same vessel within months points to unresolved risk, whether in shipyard procedures, supervision, repair sequencing or enforcement of safety controls. The supplied evidence does not establish which of those explanations is correct, but it does show police openly examining possible negligence by PT ALS, the shipyard operator named in both reports.

The human impact was immediate and severe. AP described grief-stricken relatives gathering at hospitals for information about loved ones. Marine Insight reported that some victims suffered serious burn injuries and that emergency responders continued their work as families waited for updates. The evidence does not provide the identities of the dead or say whether the casualties were concentrated among welders, tank workers or other repair crews.

The mechanical description is also limited but consistent. AP said the fire broke out in the vessel's gas tank while repairs were underway. Marine Insight said the blaze erupted around 4 a.m. local time and was quickly followed by the explosion. Neither source, in the supplied excerpts, provides a final technical cause. That means there is support for reporting where the fire started and under what general conditions, but not for drawing firmer conclusions about ignition sequence, compliance failures or criminal liability.

On the event date, the verifiable picture was stark: MT Federal II, a tanker already linked to a fatal June accident, exploded again during repair work at Batam; 10 people were killed, 21 were injured and Indonesian authorities opened another negligence-focused investigation. For the families of the workers and for the shipyard sector more broadly, the unanswered question was how a known danger returned so quickly on the same ship.