PUBLISHED ONFebruary 20, 2026 1:10 AMUPDATEDFebruary 20, 2026 4:52 PMBYSean LerA fire broke out onboard the Liberia-flagged cruise ship World Legacy on Friday (Feb 20) morning, said the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
The incident happened at around 4am, at the lounge area of deck nine, when the vessel was enroute to Singapore.
In a media statement on Friday morning, MPA said the fire was brought under control by crew members. The authority, in a second update issued at 11.50am, said the fire was extinguished by Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) marine firefighters.
One of the 388 crew members, an Indonesian national, is reported to have died from the fire. His body has been transferred ashore and the Indonesian embassy in Singapore has been notified.
None of the crew members onboard are Singaporeans.
There were also 271 passengers onboard the cruise ship at the time of the incident, of whom 139 are Singaporeans.
MPA said there were no reported injuries among the other crew members and passengers.
Checks by AsiaOne at 8.45am showed that the vessel is currently anchored at Raffles Reserve Anchorage, about 8.6km southwest of Sentosa and south of Pulau Semakau.
At least two ferries — Queen Star 1 and Majestic Serenity — are seen on ship tracking platform MarineTraffic alongside the cruise ship.
In addition, there are at least five SCDF Marine Division vessels and two MPA vessels around World Legacy.
According to MPA, its patrol craft, along with the Police Coast Guard and Singapore Civil Defence Force's Marine Division are attending to the cruise ship.
In its update at 11.50am, MPA said the first group of 190 passengers has been evacuated from the vessel.
All passengers were safely disembarked by around 1pm. They were disembarked at HarbourFront Ferry Terminal.
A total of four passengers were conveyed to hospital for further medical assessment by SCDF.
Meanwhile, a core crew will remain onboard the anchored vessel to conduct safety checks, essential vessel operations and to support ongoing investigation. The non-essential crew were disembarked progressively from 4.15pm onwards.
Classification society surveyors engaged by World Cruises, the vessel’s owner, will board the ship to assess the damages and the repairs to be carried out before World Legacy can be returned to service.
A safety zone has also been established around World Legacy, with navigational broadcasts issued by MPA to advise passing vessels to keep clear.
Responding to AsiaOne's queries, a representative from World Legacy said that guests with upcoming affected sailings are being contacted directly and will receive full redunds.
The representative added that they are "deeply saddened" over the crew member's passing and are "cooperating fully" with the relevant authorities.
[[nid:730039]]
