South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean (formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering) has been hit by another major safety accident.
On September 3rd at 11:30 AM local time, at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard, a fatal accident occurred during a heavy load test of a winch on the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel “P-79”, which is under construction for Brazil’s Petrobras. A winch installed at the ship’s stern bent under the excessive weight, causing a structural collapse. Rodrigo Reis Barreto (39), a Brazilian supervisor representing the shipowner, fell into the sea from a height of approximately 10 meters.
Upon receiving the report, the Changwon Coast Guard swiftly launched a rescue operation. Approximately one hour and thirty minutes later, at around 1:27 PM, they found Rodrigo Reis Barreto, who had no heartbeat, near the vessel. Despite being rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment, he ultimately passed away.
A heavy load test is an operation that confirms the load transfer state by suspending heavy objects from a wire rope or cable. At the time of the accident, Rodrigo Reis Barreto was observing the situation near the ship’s stern along with two other workers. These two workers were suspended on the structure but were fortunately rescued and are not in life-threatening condition.
Currently, the Changwon Coast Guard is investigating the exact circumstances of the accident. The Tongyeong Branch of the Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor has dispatched labor inspectors to the accident site, focusing on investigating whether Rodrigo Reis Barreto (a foreign national, not a Hanwha Ocean employee) falls under the definition of a “worker” within the scope of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.
On September 4th, Hanwha Ocean announced that due to this accident on September 3rd, the company will conduct special safety education and safety inspections, pausing production during this period. Petrobras has also initiated an internal investigation into the accident, forming a committee to determine the cause.
It is understood that the construction of the “P-79” FPSO involved in the accident is nearing completion. This FPSO was originally contracted in 2021 by Hanwha Ocean’s predecessor, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME). At that time, a multinational bidding consortium comprising DSME and Italy’s Saipem signed an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract with Petrobras for the “P-79” FPSO, with a total contract value of approximately $2.3 billion. DSME’s share of the contract was $1 billion, while Saipem’s share was about $1.3 billion.
This FPSO has an overall length of 345 meters, a depth of 60 meters, a width of 34 meters, and a total weight of 128,000 tons. It can produce 180,000 barrels of crude oil and 7.2 million cubic meters of natural gas per day, with a storage capacity of up to 2 million barrels of crude oil. It will be installed at the Buzios offshore oil field, 210 kilometers southeast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This is Brazil’s second-largest oil-producing region and one of the world’s largest deep-water oil fields, with oil reserves of 3 billion barrels.
The “P-79” is expected to be completed and delivered in 2026. Earlier this year, the FPSO topside modules built by Offshore Oil Engineering Co., Ltd. (COOEC) arrived at the shipyard, and integration work began.
In recent years, Hanwha Ocean has frequently experienced safety accidents. In 2022, Hanwha Ocean had three fatal safety accidents: on March 25th, a worker performing crane cable maintenance was struck and killed by falling materials; on September 1st, a worker was crushed and killed by a large moving work platform; on October 19th, a 66-year-old employee of a subcontractor was run over and killed by a moving forklift. In 2023, Hanwha Ocean had one fatal safety accident: on March 23rd, in a fall-from-height accident, two workers were involved, resulting in one death and one injury.
Last year, safety accidents at Hanwha Ocean increased again. A total of 15 workers at Korean shipyards died in industrial accidents last year, with Hanwha Ocean alone accounting for 3 deaths, making it one of the shipyards with the most fatal accidents among Korean shipbuilders.
On January 12th last year at 3:19 PM, an explosion occurred at a Hanwha Ocean ship rudder manufacturing factory. G, a 28-year-old worker from a subcontractor who was performing grinding work inside the workshop, was thrown more than ten meters by the blast wave and died after being taken to the hospital.
On January 24th last year at 4:15 PM, K, a subcontractor worker performing underwater debris removal work on a ship hull for Hanwha Ocean, was found unconscious. Although the shipyard took emergency measures and rushed K to the hospital emergency room, he ultimately passed away at around 5:00 PM that day.
On September 9th last year at 10:57 PM, A, a subcontractor worker in his 40s working overtime at night for Hanwha Ocean, fell from a height of about 30 meters on a container ship under construction. He suffered severe injuries and was taken to the hospital in cardiac arrest but ultimately passed away.
Due to the frequent accidents, Hanwha Ocean has decided to invest heavily in promoting company-wide safety innovation. The company plans to invest 2 trillion Korean won (approximately 10.3 billion RMB) by 2026 for safety improvements. Through measures such as building a comprehensive smart safety system for the shipyard, replacing old equipment, fostering an advanced safety culture, and increasing safety training, it aims to rebuild its safety management system, fundamentally enhance intrinsic safety levels, strive to become the “world’s safest shipyard,” and ensure employee safety and production quality.
It is reported that since being incorporated into the Hanwha Group in May 2023, Hanwha Ocean’s investment in the safety and health field reached 321.2 billion won (approximately 1.65 billion RMB) that year, an increase of 60 billion won (approximately 310 million RMB) from 2022. In 2024, the company’s investment in the safety and health field increased to 350 billion won (approximately 1.8 billion RMB), with a budget of 55 billion won (approximately 280 million RMB) allocated specifically for the smart safety sector. These investments will be primarily used for constructing safety facilities, replacing old equipment, installing protective devices for hazardous machinery, and employee safety and health training. Concurrently, the number of HSE (Health, Safety, and Environment) related personnel at the company was 284 in 2021, 277 in 2022, and had increased to 300 by the end of 2023.
