Police in Indonesia's North Sulawesi province have named the captain of the passenger ferry Barcelona VA as a suspect in the incident wherein the same vessel caught fire earlier this week.
The captain, identified only as "IB," became the subject of investigation after interviews with witnesses revealed issues such as irregularities in the passenger manifest and failure by the vessel's crew to follow emergency procedures during the evacuation following the fire.
At the time of the incident on Sunday, July 20, Barcelona VA's manifest had recorded only 280 passengers and 15 crewmembers. However, more than 570 people were eventually rescued while another three individuals are confirmed dead.
Separate investigations are also underway to determine whether the other crewmembers' actions had exacerbated the danger after the blaze ignited.
The incident occurred as the ferry was minutes away from its final destination of Manado Port in North Sulawesi.
Some of the passengers later told investigators that they had been told that a ticket inspection was to take place and that they should wait in their cabins as the ferry neared Manado.
They said that they only learned about the fire when they heard the other passengers already panicking.