Japan’s Largest Shipbuilder Imabari Shipbuilding Reports Another Serious Workplace Accident
On July 12, a severe accident occurred at Imabari Shipbuilding’s Marugame Shipyard in Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture, during ship assembly operations. A ship block collapsed, injuring seven male workers—aged between their teens and 30s—who were working inside or near the structure. All were hospitalized, but none sustained life-threatening injuries.
The incident happened in the morning, with emergency services receiving a call at 11:56 AM reporting that “a heavy object fell from a crane, injuring multiple people” at the shipyard.
Details of the workers’ injuries remain unclear, but all were conscious and able to communicate when transported. The group included three teenagers, three individuals in their 20s, and one in their 30s. Local authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.
Imabari Shipbuilding is Japan’s largest shipbuilding group by output, operating 10 domestic shipyards with an annual capacity of over 90 vessels. The Marugame Shipyard, where the accident occurred, is one of its largest facilities, featuring a globally competitive dry dock measuring 610 meters long, 80 meters wide, and 11.7 meters deep—Japan’s largest—equipped with three 1,300-ton gantry cranes.
The shipyard specializes in constructing ultra-large container ships (up to 20,000 TEU) and employs advanced robotics to enhance productivity. Clarksons data shows Marugame currently holds orders for 21 vessels totaling 2.348 million deadweight tons, including 16,000 TEU and 13,700 TEU container ships, bulk carriers, and 7,000-car-capacity PCTCs, with deliveries scheduled through 2028.
This marks the latest in a series of fatal accidents at Imabari facilities. In November 2023, a 44-year-old Filipino worker died at the Imabari Shipyard in Ehime Prefecture when a crane operation went wrong. The company and a 31-year-old safety manager were later referred to prosecutors for violating industrial safety laws due to inadequate crane safety measures.
Another fatality occurred in August 2022 during scaffold dismantling in an engine room, where no legally required supervisor was present. A 50-something temporary worker fell to his death.
In March 2024, Japan’s Immigration Services Agency penalized Imabari by revoking 2,134 technical intern training programs—a record for a single company—and banning new interns for five years starting March 2025. The sanctions stemmed from a four-year-old crane inspection violation that led to a fine under labor safety laws in May 2023.
Imabari attributed the disciplinary action to past compliance failures while maintaining current operations.
