The fire which engulfed three fuel storage tanks owned by Petronas Dagangan at the Johor Port in Pasir Gudang after being struck by lightning Friday evening, was put out completely by firemen at 2.49am Saturday. Johor Port Authority Chairman Abdul Halim Suleiman said only three tanks were damaged in the fire and not 16 as reported by the media. "It involved only three tanks, two containing petrol and the other, natural gas. We are thankful the fire was completely put out early today," he told Bernama, in Johor Baharu, capital of southern state of Johor. Based on initial investigations, Halim said the fire was caused by lightning during a thunderstorm. He said further investigations would be carried out and on measures to be taken to avoid a similar incident. There were no human casualties involving port workers and firemen, he said. On port operations, Halim said it would operate as usual except at the fuel storage centre which would be closed to facilitate investigations on the fire. In the 6.20pm incident Friday, three of the 16 fuel tanks at the storage centre caught fire. Thick black smoke billowed from the centre and was visible even from Singapore. Fearing the worst, the Johor Port authorities advised several ships anchored at the port to move away. Besides firemen from Johor Baharu, Permas, Pasir Gudang and the port authority, companies like Idemitsu and Titan also sent their teams to assist in the fire-fighting operations. Apart from Petronas fuel tanks, other tanks owned by Caltex and Exxon Mobil were also in the vicinity.
