Following the most recent fatal incident at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering’s (DSME) Okpo yard, the Korean Government has ordered the yard to halt work on the five liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers currently under construction, Yonhap news agency reports.
The fire that killed one and injured seven workers on Tuesday, seems to be the final straw in DSME’s streak of incidents, triggering Seoul to freeze all work on LPG carriers until work safety is guaranteed. The action is to enter into force immediately.
The government has already tried to warn DSME with an order of a week-long work suspension following the incident in August .
BW Group, Dorian LPG and Shandong Shipping have LPG carriers on order at DSME.
Yonhap said that the Korean shipbuilder announced plans to improve the education of its workers on safety on the back of the recent developments.
It has not been disclosed when DSME’s Okpo yard would be allowed to resume operations and how will the delivery scheduled be affected.
In less than three months, three people have died and dozens were injured in at least four incidents this year that involved fires and tank explosions during work on LPG carriers at the yard.
World Maritime News Staff