Hundreds of travellers were stranded at the Labuan ferry jetty terminal when fire broke out on board a roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) ferry at 6.10am today.  

There were fewer than 10 crew members on board the Wawasan Perdana during the incident which occurred ahead of the vessel’s first trip to Menumbok. No casualties were reported.

It is understood that no passengers or vehicles were on board the vessel when the fire broke out.

Labuan police chief Supt Adzhar Othman said an investigation would be carried out to ascertain the cause of the incident.  

The Fire and Rescue Services Department received a distress call minutes after the incident and managed to put out the blaze 15 minutes later, having dispatched three fire engines to the scene.

Following the incident, ferry services to the mainland have been temporarily halted.   

The ferry, originally from South Korea, has been in operation for the past eight years and is able to carry 600 passengers and 60 vehicles at any one time.

Apart from Wawasan Perdana, the Labuan Ferry Corporation (LFC) operates another ferry, Warisan Perdana .

LFC chief executive officer Samsul Sahari told Bernama it would be left to the authorities to carry out an investigation.  

The only way to travel to the mainland now is on the Kimanis Ferry operated by Juta Bonus, a Sabah-based company.  

- Bernama