Regarding the fatal fall accident that occurred at Geoje Shipyard on September 3, Kim Hee-cheul, CEO and Representative Director of Hanwha Ocean, issued an apology statement pledging to provide support to the victim’s family and implement measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
Hanwha Ocean announced on the 4th that at approximately 11:56 a.m. on September 3, Rodrigo Reis Barreto (39), an employee of Petrobras, fell overboard and died while working at the shipyard.
Kim Hee-cheul stated in his apology: “We extend our deepest condolences to the victim who passed away far from home and to his family, and we will spare no effort in providing support to the bereaved family. We also express our profound sorrow to the Brazilian government and the shipowner.”
On September 5, Hanwha Ocean issued another announcement stating that since 5:40 PM on the 4th, it has completely suspended all deck edge work in the affected area of the Geoje Shipyard, as well as load testing operations for the crane winch installed at the stern of the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) platform.
Hanwha Ocean stated that in accordance with Article 3 of the Enforcement Rules of the Industrial Safety and Health Act, the work suspension this time is due to the “occurrence of a major disaster”.
South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) issued a stop-work order to Hanwha Ocean on the 4th. Once the cause of the accident is determined and safety measures are implemented, the ministry’s approval to lift the order will allow operations to resume.
This is the first industrial accident reported by Hanwha Ocean this year. Hanwha Ocean pledged to fully cooperate with the relevant authorities in the investigation, identify the cause of the accident, and formulate measures to prevent it from happening again. The company also emphasized that it will “place employee safety as the highest priority and create a safer working environment.”
According to previous reports, the accident occurred on the under-construction 150,000-ton class FPSO P-79. At the time of the accident, the hoisting winch installed at the stern of the vessel was undergoing a load test. During the test, the structure is suspected to have collapsed and fallen due to being unable to bear the weight, causing three workers to fall into the sea, resulting in 1 death and 2 injuries.
The accident has drawn the attention of both the shipowner and the Brazilian labor union federation. The shipowner has established a special investigative committee to investigate the fatalities. The Federation of Oil Workers of Brazil (FUP, abbreviation of the Portuguese “Federação Única dos Petroleiros”) has explicitly demanded that the investigation be fully transparent, with effective participation from union representatives, to identify the causes, rectify deficiencies, and prevent such tragedies from recurring.