The construction of new container ships at Hanwha Ocean is being impacted after a worker fell to his death three weeks ago.
Shipbuilding sources said the South Korean shipyard was immediately issued a work suspension order by the ministry of employment and labour after an outsourced worker died from injuries sustained from a fall from a lashing bridge on a container ship newbuilding.
According to news agencies, Hanwha Ocean applied to lift the work stoppage 11 days after the accident. The appeal was denied.
The ministry’s Tongyeong regional office, which reviewed Hanwha Ocean’s application on 24 September, rejected the appeal as the shipbuilder did not lay down specific fall prevention measures and failed to conduct a risk assessment of the entire lashing bridge.
Shipbuilding sources following Hanwha Ocean’s activities said that based on the work stoppage order, the yard is not allowed to carry out building works on container ships’ lashing bridges.
However, the work suspension order does not apply to other ship types.
Hanwha Ocean confirmed to TradeWinds that the work suspension order and the rejected appeal. It highlighted that work suspension is only for the lashing bridge installation area where the accident occurred.
“All operations at Hawha Ocean’s Geoje Shipyard are operating normally,” said Hanwha Ocean.
The work suspension decree stemmed from a major safety accident at the Okpo-based shipyard on the evening of 9 September.
As TradeWinds reported at the time, a worker — named in the Korean media as Mr Gu, who worked for a subcontractor at the shipyard — died on 9 September after falling at around 22:00 local time during the use of an offshore crane on a floating dock.
He was working overtime and fell from a height of about 32 metres from the top of a container ship to the bottom of the ship.
The shipbuilder union had alleged that Hanwha Ocean was in a rush to meet the vessel’s construction dateline and had instructed its subcontractors to work at night.
The subcontractor had been cautious regarding a heightened risk of accidents.
Second appeal
Shipbuilding sources said Hanwha Ocean plans to file a new appeal for relief from the stop-work order on 2 October.
The death of the outsourced worker is the fourth accident that has taken place at Hanwha Ocean so far this year.
Two fatal accidents took place in January and one in August when a subcontracted worker passed out and died.
The shipbuilder’s union attributed the death of the worker, who was in his 60s, to the shipyard’s inadequate measures for preventing heat-related illnesses.
On 18 September, Hanwha Ocean said it planned to invest KRW 1.98trn ($1.5bn) in safety advance systems by 2026.
The purpose is to develop the world’s “safest shipyard” by creating a safe working environment for all employees.
The funding includes a regular safety budget of KRW 1.13trn and an investment budget of KRW 846bn for new safety facilities.
Hanwha Ocean pledged to conduct thorough safety compliance checks twice a year and perform the 23 strategic tasks outlined by DNV to achieve the highest International Safety Rating System within South Korea’s manufacturing sector.
