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SUBIC
BAY FREEPORT—After receiving raves last month for
completing in record time the first container ship to be
built in the Philippines, Korean shipbuilder Hanjin
Heavy Industries Corp.-Philippines (Hanjin Heavy-Phil.)
is again in the harsh glare of negative publicity for
two fatal accidents that occurred in its shipyard here
last week.
The
first accident involved a vehicle collision on June 11
that led to the death of Rafael Careg, a worker from
Pasig City, while the second, an industrial accident on
June 15, killed Oliver Labay, 32, of Olongapo City.
On
Monday, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA)
ordered an investigation into the second fatal accident
and issued a notice of violation to Hanjin for safety
lapses found in the fatal collision.
“We’re
staying on top of the situation, and the SBMA would get
to the bottom of this recent tragedy,” SBMA
Administrator Armand Arreza said on Tuesday.
He
announced that the agency’s Occupational Health and
Safety Office is conducting a full investigation on the
accident that killed Labay.
“Right
after the accident, our investigators have begun their
probe. What the SBMA safety office is now doing is
getting to the root cause and the factors that may have
caused the accident,” he said.
Initial
investigation by the SBMA Intelligence and Investigation
Office (SBMA-IIO) indicated that Labay was grinding a
block bulkhead for a cargo ship at about 1:50 a.m. when
another bulkhead behind him collapsed.
The
one-ton bulkhead hit Labay on the back of his head and
pinned him to the concrete floor, said the victim’s
fellow worker Benjamin Cabingas Jr.
Labay
died on the spot, according to a Hanjin Heavy-Phils.
company nurse, who responded to calls for help from
workers in the area.
Investigation showed that the metal stopper keeping the
one-ton bulkhead in place gave way. The accident
occurred at Subassembly 1 in the shipyard’s 13-1 bay
where ship parts are fabricated.
Labay
was employed by Suschicor, a company subcontracted by
Hanjin Heavy-Phils. contractor KC Tech. KC Tech has
shouldered the funeral expenses of the victim, the
SBMA-IIO said in its report.
Arreza
also said the SBMA Ecology Center issued a notice of
violation to Hanjin Heavy-Phils. on Monday for the
vehicular accident that led to the death of Careg.
According to a report from the Hanjin Heavy-Phils.
safety department, Careg was riding a pickup truck when
the vehicle was hit by a Hanjin Heavy-Phils. crane boom
truck.
The
impact reportedly rendered the pickup truck a total
wreck.
Careg
was brought to the district hospital in San Marcelino,
Zambales, but attending doctors pronounced him dead on
arrival.
Arreza
said the SBMA had penalized Hanjin Heavy-Phils. after
finding safety lapses in the June 11 collision during
the investigation last week.
Arreza
added that Hanjin Heavy-Phils.’ Jeong Sup Shim had
relayed to him the company’s regrets for the tragedy,
and said the firm will abide by SBMA requirements on
safety procedures at the shipyard.
He also
said that prior to the recent accidents, the SBMA had
made arrangements to establish a safety monitoring
office at the Hanjin Heavy-Phils. shipyard.
The
company is now setting up an office to be occupied by
the SBMA health and safety personnel, he added.
The
recent accidents brought to 13 the number of fatalities
that occurred since Hanjin Heavy-Phils. established its
Subic shipyard in 2006, according to a list from Task
Force Hanjin, a group monitoring the Hanjin Heavy-Phils.
shipbuilding project here.
In
March, the SBMA issued a warning to subcontractors
operating at various job sites in the shipyard where a
probe was going on for accidents that involved workers
hired by subcontractors.
The
subcontractors should “adhere strictly to occupational
safety requirements or face immediate closure” as it
pointed out that in most of the accidents,
subcontractors and their workers “failed to observe even
common-sense safety measures,” the SBMA officials said.
One of
the cases the SBMA investigated last March involved a
worker who fell off a roof after reportedly failing to
notice that he was at the edge. While the victim wore a
safety harness, it was not properly secured,
investigators noted. |
