An explosion has claimed the lives of two workers who were dismantling a Carnival Corp cruiseship at Aliaga Metas Ship Breaking in Turkey.
According to recycling lobby group NGO Shipbreaking Platform, 55-year-old Yilmaz Demir and 30-year-old Olguz Taskin, were caught in an engine room fire while dismantling the 70,400-gt Carnival Inspiration (built 1996).
Demir died at the scene, while Taskin later died of his injuries in hospital. The accident happened on 12 July.
“After the necessary investigations regarding the accident are completed, a detailed explanation will be shared with the public,” the yard said in local press reports.
The Carnival Inspiration was bought by Turkey’s Ege Celik group, which is an approved facility under the European Union’s Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR). Netherlands recycling consultancy Sea2Cradle was appointed advisor on safety compliance on the demolition project.
However, according to NGO Shipbreaking, because of congestion the vessel was moved to Ege Celik's Metas shipyard in Aliaga, which has not been recognised by the EU SRR regulation.
Sea2Cradle declined to comment on the cause of the accident while it is under investigation. "The vessel no longer belongs to Carnival and the decision of shifting the vessel was made by the yard that acquired the vessel," the company said in a statement.
"It was moved to another yard that operates under the same management and applies same operating standards as Ege Celik. These standards have been audited and confirmed by Sea2Cradle prior to the move," it added.
The accident comes amid concerns that Turkish shipyards have been overloaded with work after the pandemic forced cruise companies to bring forward retirement plans for some of their older cruiseships.
NGO Shipbreaking executive director Ingvild Jenssen said: "The heaping up of ships in Aliaga must not compromise occupational health and safety management. Cruiseships are notoriously complex structures full of compartments and potentially deadly hazards that require a skilled workforce and time to take apart.”
Carnival Corp and Ege Celik have been contacted for comment.
As reported in February by TradeWinds, a man died while working on a Carnival Corp cruiseship at the Simsekler Ship Recycling Yard in Turkey.
