Malaysian SAR vessels respond to yacht fire off Langkawi

Enigma in 2009 (Photo: MarineTraffic.com/Claudio Ritossa)

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has responded to an incident wherein a yacht caught fire while anchored in the Malacca Strait off Langkawi Island on Thursday, February 18.

The blaze on the 75-metre Enigma ignited in the morning (local time) of Thursday, prompting the crew to send out a distress call to the MMEA and the maritime rescue sub-centre on Langkawi.

MMEA vessels arrived at the scene at 08:18 and began firefighting and search and rescue (SAR) operations even as the effort was made more challenging by strong winds in the area.

The fire was finally extinguished by Thursday evening and all seven crewmembers on Enigma were rescued without injury and brought aboard an MMEA patrol boat.

The yacht suffered significant damage from the fire. No oil spills have so far been detected.


Baird Maritime

The best maritime site on the web. The sea's our scene!