On Sunday, July 20, 2025, the KM Barcelona 5, a passenger ferry, caught fire while traveling to Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province in Indonesia. The incident occurred around midday during its regular half-day journey from Melonguane port in the Talaud Islands district. According to First Adm. Franky Pasuna Sihombing, chief of the Manado navy base, over 560 passengers and crew members were successfully rescued, although three fatalities were reported.
The rescue operation was extensive, involving a coast guard ship, six rescue vessels, and multiple inflatable boats. Personnel worked diligently to pull passengers from the sea and transport them to nearby islands. Local fishermen played a crucial role in the rescue efforts, saving survivors who were wearing life jackets and drifting in the choppy waters.
Footage shared on social media depicted distressing scenes, with terrified passengers, predominantly wearing life jackets, jumping into the sea amid a backdrop of orange flames and thick black smoke billowing from the burning ferry. The search and rescue mission continued into the following day, although there were no immediate reports of additional missing individuals. Initial reports indicated that five people had perished, but the National Search and Rescue Agency later revised this number to three after two individuals thought to be dead were saved, including a 2-month-old baby who had inhaled seawater.
The fire, which originated in the ferry’s stern, was extinguished within an hour, Sihombing reported. The ferry initially had a manifest that listed only 280 passengers and 15 crew members, yet the national rescue agency confirmed that 568 survivors were rescued, along with the recovery of three bodies, one of which was a pregnant woman. This incident highlighted the frequent discrepancies between the listed number of passengers and the actual count on Indonesian boats, complicating both disaster responses and safety measures, according to Sihombing.
The KM Barcelona 5 has a capacity of 600 individuals, and this tragedy occurred in Indonesia, an archipelago consisting of more than 17,000 islands, where ferry travel is common. Unfortunately, maritime accidents are not rare, often attributed to inadequate safety enforcement. Earlier examples of maritime disasters include a speedboat that capsized on July 14 while carrying 18 people, with all occupants subsequently rescued. Additionally, a ferry sank near Bali earlier that month, resulting in the deaths of at least 19 people and leaving 16 others missing, which required a complex two-week search operation involving over 600 rescuers, three navy ships, 15 boats, a helicopter, and divers.
The incident serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing risks associated with ferry travel in Indonesia, amplifying calls for improved safety regulations and stricter enforcement to prevent such tragedies in the future.
