Disaster

KM Prima Sentosa Catches Fire off Bengkulu, All 26 Crew Rescued

Stateline MEDIA Newsroom•October 17, 2026•3 min read

The cargo ship KM Prima Sentosa caught fire in its engine room off Bengkulu on Friday night (Oct 16, 2026). All 26 crew members — 23 Indonesians and 3 foreign nationals — were safely evacuated by a joint SAR team in an operation lasting about two hours.

Key Facts

Cargo ship KM Prima Sentosa caught fire in its engine room on Friday night (Oct 16, 2026), about 30 nautical miles from Pulau Baai Port, Bengkulu.
The vessel was sailing from Muara Jawa, East Kalimantan, to Nagan Raya, Aceh, when the fire broke out at around 7:00 p.m. local time.
All 26 crew members — 23 Indonesian citizens and 3 foreign nationals — were evacuated safely.
Initial reports said 11 crew were missing and 13 rescued; the crew count was later confirmed at 26 people.
Thirteen crew escaped on life rafts and were assisted by the passing KM Seroja 20; the other 13 stayed near the ship, fearing they would be swept away by currents.
The joint SAR team arrived at the scene at around 2:00 a.m. WIB on Saturday (Oct 17, 2026) and completed the staged evacuation in about two hours.
Rescue elements included Basarnas Bengkulu, KN 213 Bengkulu, the KPP Bengkulu Rescue team, and the Bengkulu Naval Base, supported by water SAR, communications, and medical equipment.
All crew were taken to Pelindo Port in Bengkulu city for registration and further medical checks.

Fire Started in the Engine Room

The cargo ship KM Prima Sentosa caught fire off Bengkulu on Friday night (Oct 16, 2026), at around 7:00 p.m. local time. The fire started in the engine room while the vessel was sailing from Muara Jawa, East Kalimantan, to Nagan Raya, Aceh. The incident occurred about 30 nautical miles from Pulau Baai Port on Sumatra's west coast.

Initial reports said 11 crew members were missing and 13 had been rescued. The crew count was later confirmed at 26 people — 23 Indonesian citizens and 3 foreign nationals. Thirteen of them escaped on life rafts before being picked up by the KM Seroja 20, which happened to be passing by.

The other 13 crew members chose to stay near the vessel, fearing they would be swept away by currents if they moved farther. They waited near the KM Prima Sentosa until the joint SAR team arrived at around 2:00 a.m. WIB on Saturday (Oct 17, 2026).

Two-Hour Evacuation, Everyone Safe

The evacuation took about two hours in challenging sea conditions. The joint SAR team — comprising Basarnas Bengkulu, KN 213 Bengkulu, the KPP Bengkulu Rescue team, and the Bengkulu Naval Base (Lanal) — moved all crew members in stages until everyone was safe.

The head of the Basarnas Bengkulu office, Muslikun Sidik, confirmed that all 26 crew members had arrived safely at Pelindo Port in Bengkulu city. "Regarding the KM Prima Sentosa vessel accident, the crew numbered 26 people and they have now arrived safely," he said on Saturday.

The crew are now undergoing registration and further medical checks at the Pelindo Bengkulu post. Authorities will follow up on the incident to ensure shipping safety in the future.