The Zahro Express disaster occurred on the morning of 1 January 2017 when an Indonesian-flagged wooden passenger vessel caught fire in the waters of Thousands Islands Regency, off the coast of Jakarta.

She was travelling from Jakarta's Muara Angke to Tidung Island, a popular tourist destination.

[2] The ferry, bound for Tidung Island, was crowded with tourists when the generator on the main deck produced sparks.

The captain was charged for negligence due to "manifest discrepancies", while the owner of the ferry was only sent a disciplinary note by the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation.

MV Zahro Express was a privately-owned, traditionally-made wooden passenger ferry built in Thousands Islands Regency in 2013.

The crew members then asked permission from local authorities to depart from Muara Angke and was later granted.

As he headed towards the engine compartment, he turned on the outlet fans and discovered that the smoke was produced from a leaking exhaust pipe of the ferry's generator.

[6][1] MV Zahro Express departed from Muara Angke at 08:15 a.m, with a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) and a destination to Tidung Island.

[1] The ferry had just departed from Muara Angke for 15 minutes when crew members noticed that there were smoke coming out from the lower left engine compartment, which was located around an electric generator.

[1] Chaos immediately engulfed the entire ferry as the smoke thickened, with screaming and crying could be heard.

Passengers in the upper deck, who noticed that smoke was coming out from the stern, immediately ran to the two main access located at the bow.

Due to the proximity of MV Zahro Express with nearby vessels, many passengers were immediately rescued.

Five minutes after the fire had just started at the lower deck, MV Zahro Express was completely engulfed in flames.

[12][13] Immediately after the fire was extinguished, rescue personnel towed the burnt wreckage of MV Zahro Express to Muara Angke.

[16] As no human remains were recovered from the sea, BASARNAS concluded the search and rescue operation on 8 January.

[17] As the disaster happened on holiday season, most of the passengers were sightseers who were travelling to Tidung Island for vacation.

According to NTSC, the vessel operating the route, MV Zahro Express, was carrying 216 passengers and 5 crew members.

Several parts of the stator were found to be a lot darker than the other, suggesting that a generator overheat might have happened.

[25] The rotor, which was not supposed to scrape the stator, had shifted from its initial position due to damage on its bearing.

An air tube in the compartment, located directly above the fuel tank, further aggravated the condition.

The fire could also be immediately contained inside the compartment had the crew installed a quick closing valve on the genset.

[1] The fire started at the engine compartment, which was located at the lower stern, directly under the main deck.

As the generator failed and burst into flames, thick smokes immediately filled the main deck.

[27][1] The evacuation started at around 08:35 local time when passengers began to notice that there were thick smokes coming out from the engine compartment.

This caused passengers on the main deck to evacuate through the one and only access at the bow, which had a width of just 77 cm.

[1] Heavy criticisms were launched at the surviving crew members of MV Zahro Express.

[28] The captain of the vessel immediately abandoned the burning ferry as flames began to develop in the main deck.

[32] The disaster drew criticisms from politicians and caused a temporary enforcement of stricter laws on ferry operation in Muara Angke.

[36] In response to the disaster, the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation threatened severe sanctions to the Captain and the crew members.

[38] In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, several politicians visited the survivors and urged the local government to enforce stricter laws and supervision on ferries operation.