Another worker dies at Hanjin shipyard

Robert Gonzaga
Inquirer.net

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – Another worker died on Sunday when an eight-ton steel beam slipped and hit him at the shipyard of the Korean firm Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction (HHIC) Philippines Inc. here.

Benje Gamolo, 31, who worked for a Hanjin subcontractor, Subic Hansung Inc., was reportedly installing a back girder on Saturday when the right section of the eight-foot long steel beam slipped and hit him on the back and left side of the body. The back girder was used as a brace for parallel columns.

The accident happened at 4:10 p.m. on Saturday at the shipyard’s Assembly Shop C.

Gamolo was taken to the James L. Gordon Memorial Hospital in Olongapo City, where he died at about 7:30 a.m. Sunday. He was the 13th worker to have died in work-related accidents at the shipyard since the project started in 2006.

As a result of this latest accident, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority on Monday issued a second cease-and-desist order (CDO) against HHIC.

However, the order would only affect the Assembly Shop C and not the other operations. It would only be in effect for seven days.

Legal measures

In a statement, the SBMA said it would “impose further legal and regulatory measures should Hanjin fail to comply with health and safety requirements.”

The SBMA also said it expected a “full account of the accident from investigators at its (SBMA’s) public health and safety office and its law enforcement department to determine whether punitive actions against any erring entity would be warranted.”

Last month, the SBMA issued a CDO against the operations of HHIC’s construction arm after a worker died from an accident at the shipyard. The CDO was effective for seven days only.

In April, a workplace safety and health assessment conducted by the Department of Labor and Employment at the Hanjin facility revealed that accidents in the shipyard could be attributed to the firm’s health and safety lapses.

The DOLE report said “over 4,300 accidents occurred in HHIC” and that “most of the accidents were due to falls, burns and punctures which resulted in fractures, loss of body parts, lacerated wounds, dislocations and body sprains.”

But in 2007 to 2008, although SBMA records showed a steep drop in the number of accidents, from 3,273 in 2006 to 1,120 in that period, nine deaths were recorded.

The DOLE report, however, said the figures “have to be regarded with great circumspection.”