The accident occurred late Monday while tanker Heung-A Pioneer caught fire off Sungai Petani in the state of Kedah, about 300 kilometres north of Kuala Lumpur.
The fatality was a Myanmar national, according to Penang port chief executive Rosihan Adi Baharuddin.
"The injured are being treated at a hospital in Penang and all of them are in stable condition," Rosihan said.
The vessel came from Daesan port in South Korea.
- DPA