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SUBIC
BAY FREEPORT—Faced with another accident at the shipyard
of Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp.(HHIC)-Philippines over
the weekend, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA)
cracked its whip again at the Korean shipbuilder on
Monday, warning it of further sanctions should it fail
to fully comply with health and safety requirements
imposed last month.
In a
cease-and-desist order (CDO) issued on Monday, the SBMA
directed Hanjin Heavy to stop further activities and
operations at its Assembly Shop C, the site of the
latest work-related mishap.
The SBMA
also issued a CDO against Subic Han Sung Inc., a Hanjin
subcontractor that employed victim Benje Gamolo, and
ordered the firm to explain within 48 hours why its
registration should not be suspended or revoked.
According to investigation by SBMA law enforcers and
safety inspectors, the latest fatal accident occurred on
Saturday while Gamolo was working atop a beam at the Y2
section of the assembly shop.
Probers
said an 8-ton girder assembly being lifted by a crane
swayed parallel to Gamolo’s position and hit the
victim’s back and left side of the body.
Gamolo,
a 31-year-old structural erector from Tatalon, Quezon
City, died from the injuries the next day at the James
L. Gordon Memorial Hospital in Olongapo City.
Both
CDOs will be in effect for seven days, said Ramon
Agregado, SBMA deputy administrator for support
services, who sent the orders separately to HHIC-Phil.
president Jeong Sup Shim and Han Sung president Ryoo
Kwon Taek.
In the
seven-day period, the SBMA and other concerned
government agencies will conduct a comprehensive and
detailed inspection and investigation to determine
whether HHIC-Phil. Inc.’s Assembly Shop C is safe.
“This
shall be without prejudice to other sanctions, fines and
penalties that may be imposed against [Hanjin Heavy] as
principal of Subic Han Sung Inc. should the latter be
found guilty or remiss of its obligations to fully
provide for the safety and health of its workers,” said
Agregado in his order.
Agregado
said the latest incident raises questions about
compliance with occupational safety and health
rules and regulations at Hanjin’s $1.6-billion shipyard,
which has recorded a total of 13 fatal accidents since
2006.
In the
order to Hanjin, the SBMA also reminded the company of
the 30-day compliance period the authority has set
jointly with the Department of Labor and Employment on
June 18.
The
directive required Hanjin to complete various
occupational health and safety requirements, and to
immediately enforce full compliance by its contractors,
subcontractors, agents and other entities working in its
premises.
The
requirements included a third-party audit of all
shipyard equipment and safety performance, creation of
an interagency occupational health and safety superbody
at the shipyard and weekly submission of job safety and
occupational health reports to the SBMA.
Should
the 30-day period given to HHIC-Phil Inc. lapse without
full implementation and compliance, Agregado said they
will be constrained to proceed with legal and regulatory
measures to ensure the safety of Hanjin workers.
This was
the third time the SBMA ordered a work stoppage at the
Hanjin project since the Korean firm began operations
here in 2006. On June 20, the SBMA slapped the Korean
shipbuilder with a CDO for the second time after a steel
formwork collapsed due to strong winds at the height of
a storm, killing one worker and injuring four others.
SBMA
Administrator Armand Arreza had described the safety
situation at the shipyard as “alarming” and recommended
to the SBMA board the termination of contracts of three
subcontractors found to have been remiss in implementing
safety requirements.
Hanjin
had recently delivered its first Subic-made ship, the
41-tonner container carrier MV Argolikos, which was
launched on July 4.
The firm
is now building at its Redondo Peninsula facility the
second of six container ships ordered by the Greek
shipping firm Dioryx Maritime Corp. |
