Petrobras employee dies after fall at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard
Hanwha Ocean suspended operations at its Geoje shipyard after the death of a supervisor
Unions have raised concerns about the safety of shipyards previously, after workers died in accidents last year
A WORKER has died in hospital after a fall at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard in South Korea.
The Brazilian national, who worked as a supervisor for Petrobras, fell from the vessel at about 1130 hrs on September 3.
A spokesperson from Petrobras confirmed the death to Lloyd’s List and said that their employee, Rodrigo Reis Barreto, died “while conducting system tests on the P-79 platform which was under construction in South Korea on September 3”.
Barreto was rescued from the sea by the coastguard following the fall but was unconscious when he was found.
“He was transported to the hospital while receiving CPR,” a spokesperson of Hanwha Ocean told Lloyd’s List.
He later died at the hospital.
According to the spokesperson, Hanwha Ocean has suspended all related work at Geoje shipyard, “is co-operating with the relevant authorities to investigate the cause of the accident and is implementing safety measures”.
Petrobras said that it was providing assistance to his family and had formed a committee to investigate the cause of the incident.
Almost a year ago, a subcontractor at Hanwha Ocean fell 32 metres and died while working in the hold of a containership at the same shipyard in Geoje.
The Korea Metal Workers’ Union said after the incident last year that four subcontractors had died at Geoje shipyard in the first nine months of 2024. The causes of death vary: one died in a gas explosion, another drowned while diving in January and a third worker succumbed to a suspected heat-related illness in August.
Shipbuilding is one of South Korea’s core manufacturing industries, but the unions are raising concerns about the safety of the country’s shipyards. Hanwha Ocean is one of the country’s three largest shipbuilders.
