Busan Regional Headquarters of Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency Goes All-In on Major Accident Prevention in Shipbuilding Industry

Hanwha Ocean Comprehensive Diagnosis Special Measures

Ongoing Safety Culture Campaign

A comprehensive safety inspection will be conducted at Hanwha Ocean Co., Ltd. to prevent major industrial accidents.

The Busan Regional Headquarters of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (Director: Gong Heungdu) announced on the 21st that, from the 20th of this month to June 17th, a comprehensive inspection will be carried out across all Hanwha Ocean worksites to identify harmful and hazardous factors and establish preventive measures.

Hanwha Ocean has experienced a series of major accidents, including a fall accident in March last year, an explosion during grinder operations in January this year, and a drowning during diving work. As a result, there has been a growing need to enhance management's safety awareness and shift the workplace atmosphere toward accident prevention through focused management.

The comprehensive inspection at Hanwha Ocean will be conducted in accordance with the Ministry of Employment and Labor's inspection order, focusing on the provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The evaluation and analysis will be divided into two main areas: the safety and health system and the reduction of fatal workplace accidents.

The Busan Regional Headquarters of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency is conducting a safety culture campaign in front of Hanwha Ocean on Geoje Island on the 21st.

The Busan Regional Headquarters of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency is conducting a safety culture campaign in front of Hanwha Ocean on Geoje Island on the 21st.

In particular, the reduction of fatal workplace accidents will be evaluated and reviewed mainly based on risk assessment, which is the core of the government's major accident reduction roadmap. On-site inspections will focus on the three main types of accidents and eight major risk factors, and customized preventive measures will be proposed through work analysis of SIF (Serious Injury and Fatality) high-risk factors at the sites.

Additionally, the Busan Regional Headquarters will implement a comprehensive special measure to shift the atmosphere toward major accident prevention by analyzing the current status and causes of major accidents at shipbuilding worksites in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region this year.

According to the agency's analysis, the main characteristics of major accidents in the shipbuilding industry in 2024 include three explosion accidents, each resulting in multiple fatalities. More than half of all major accident victims occurred at major shipbuilders, with the scale of accidents in the order of finished shipyards, block production sites, and repair shipyards.

The agency plans to issue risk alerts to all shipbuilders in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region and implement a three-stage intensive management system to strengthen on-site responsiveness. The focus will be on identifying and eliminating factors causing major accidents in high-risk work such as confined spaces, painting, and hot work, where fire and explosion accidents have occurred.

To raise and spread safety awareness at worksites in Geoje, Tongyeong, and Goseong?areas densely populated with shipbuilding companies in Gyeongnam?the agency held a safety culture campaign on the 21st in cooperation with the Tongyeong branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor and shipbuilders in Geoje, timed with workers' arrival at work.

Gong Heungdu, Director of the Busan Regional Headquarters, emphasized, "Through this comprehensive inspection of Hanwha Ocean and the special measures, we aim to make this a turning point to reinforce safety in the shipbuilding industry of the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region, where recent safety lapses have occurred. We hope that each worksite will review their safety and health systems and actively improve high-risk work factors so that the accident-free time at our shipbuilding sites can begin anew."