No injuries have been reported following an engine room fire on board an elderly urea carrier off Indonesia.

The Tribun Jateng newspaper reported that the blaze broke out on the 11,200-dwt fertiliser ship Soemantri Brodjonegoro (built 1977) on Wednesday at the Pertamina dock in Cilacap.

Of the 26 crew on board, 21 were evacuated, while five stayed on board to coordinate firefighting efforts.

Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) attended the scene in an effort to extinguish the flames.

Information provided by crew members did not make it clear what the cause of the incident was, a Basarnas spokesman was quoted as saying.

Safe evacuation

Video footage showed grey and white smoke billowing from the aft of the vessel.

The 21 seafarers were safely removed from the vessel, Basarnas said, with the five others remaining on standby to monitor the situation.

The crew members are Indonesians.

The last AIS update showed the urea carrier en route to Cilacap on 25 November.

The Soemantri Brodjonegoro is owned and operated by Pupuk Sriwidjaja Palembang (Pusri), of Palembang in Indonesia.

The company has been contacted for further information.

There is no record of any port state control inspections for the vessel on the Equasis database.

In November, two crew members were killed in a fire on a chemical tanker off Portugal.

Rotterdam-based owner Chemship said the blaze started in the engine room of the 14,300-dwt Chemical Master (built 2009).

The fire was brought under control by crew. Tug assistance was arranged and the 134-metre vessel, worth $12m, was towed to anchorage off Lisbon for further assessment of damage and first repairs.