On September 30, the Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri and local police reported an accident at the company’s shipyard in the Italian port city of Ancona, resulting in one fatality and one serious injury.
According to the report, the accident occurred on the evening of Tuesday, September 29, while two shipyard workers were performing welding operations on a vessel and a fire suddenly broke out. Local police are investigating the cause of the fire, while local unions have suggested that the accident may have been triggered by a malfunctioning welding machine.
Fincantieri stated that both workers involved in the accident were outsourced personnel. The deceased was a 54-year-old Tunisian national who died from severe burns; the seriously injured worker is a 29-year-old Bangladeshi national who is being transferred from a local hospital in Ancona to a specialized burn center for treatment.
Following the accident, Italy’s three major metalworkers’ unions—Fiom, Fim, and Uilm—organized protests at the shipyard and immediately launched an eight-hour strike. Subsequently, national unions called for a two-hour strike across all Fincantieri shipyards starting September 30 to underscore the gravity of the incident.
Local unions stated, “There is an urgent need to change the safety culture; safety issues are often viewed merely as an operating cost.” They called for increased investment in training and protective equipment and urged a review of Italy’s general contracting and subcontracting labor models, noting that workplace accidents are more frequent at sites where subcontractors operate.
Fincantieri is a state-controlled Italian shipbuilding giant and a global leader in cruise ship construction. With a history spanning over 230 years, the company has built more than 7,000 vessels and operates 18 shipyards across three continents.
The Ancona, where the accident occurred, is a key facility within the Fincantieri network. Covering an area of 360,000 square meters, it boasts an annual capacity of 60,000 gross tons, a lifting capacity of 500 tons, and a monthly hull structure output of 1,200 tons. As a major shipyard in central Italy, it is capable of constructing both cruise ships and specialized vessels.