inp.polri.go.id - The Head of the Central Java Regional Police (Kapolda Jateng), Inspector General Drs. Ahmad Luthfi, S.H., S.St., M.K., said that the alleged cause of the fire that engulfed 45 ships at the Wijayapura Pier, Cilacap, came from a spark on one of the ships. However, the Head of the Cilacap Regency Civil Service Police Unit (Kasatpol PP Cilacap), Luhur Satrio Muhsin, clearly stated that the results of his investigation showed that the cause of the fire was suspected to be from the explosion of a ship dynamo which was being repaired. Another statement from the Cilacap National SAR Agency (Basarnas) stated that before the fire started, an explosion was heard from the ship. "One of the ships that was docked was exploded, and it caused a fire," said I Nyoman Sidakarya, head of the search and rescue divison of Basarnas Cilacap. The ship that first caught fire was docked at Battery Pier. Incidentally, when it happened on Tuesday (03/05/22) afternoon, the wind was blowing hard. Most of the crew are also on Eid holiday. "The ships are made of fiber and wood, and those materials are easily flammable," explained Satrio when interviewed by Radar Cilacap (Batam Pos group). Kapolda Jateng added that the fire then spread to other ships that docked at Wijayapura Pier, Pelindo Scout Pier, and Pelindo Beaching Pier. He said, on the ship where the fire originated, there was one crew. However, his party is still investigating the connection between the crew and the fire. The police have conducted initial investigation in four piers. “The ships were burned and destroyed, and they were scattered by the waves and tidal currents," added Kapolda Jateng as reported by Radar Cilacap. According to Satpol PP data, the 44 boats that caught fire were longliners belonging to fishermen, and one tugboat belonging to Pelindo. Satrio also stated that because the fire spread to other ships around Batre Pier, the ropes of the mooring ship are broken and burned, causing the boats scattered because of the waves to the west, towards Wijayapura Pier, Kepanduan Pelindo Pier, and Beaching Pelindo Pier, and this caused the fire to spread even wider. The location of the fire is about 1.5 kilometers from PT Pertamina International Refinery (KPI) RU IV Cilacap. However, Pertamina confirmed that the fire did not interfere with the distribution of BBM (fuel oil). The handling of the fire takes a long time. From Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday morning, the fire just won’t go out. Even until yesterday morning at 06.00 the firefighters were still doing their job. "BPBD Cilacap, Basarnas Cilacap, and local community go to the houses around the location of fire to evacuate temporarily," said Satrio.