Safety lapses blamed for fatal Hanjin shipyard blast

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT, Philippines -- The Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. Ltd. had “inadequate safeguards” and the South Korean-run shipyard committed seven safety lapses that led to Friday’s gas explosion that killed two workers and injured five others, an investigation by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) showed.

By Ansbert Joaquin, Tonette Orejas - Inquirer Central Luzon Desk

The SBMA’s Ecology Center, which oversees the operation of the freeport’s occupational health and safety division, cited the seven safety lapses --ncluding a lack of emergency response procedures -- in its report to SBMA Chair Feliciano Salonga.

Salonga immediately told the South Korean executives of Hanjin to correct the lapses.

"The need is immediate. I’m not giving them any leeway. They need to do it right away," Salonga said when asked if Hanjin had been given a deadline to comply with the agency’s recommendations.

Pyeong Jong Yu, Hanjin general manager, did not reply when sought for comment on the findings and recommendations of the SBMA.

"These include the lack of effective emergency response procedures, and the lack of safety officers to oversee operations, especially in hazardous work places," the SBMA said in an update summarizing the center’s investigation report.

Hanjin also lacked proper inspection procedures to ensure the soundness of equipment and materials used in the shipyard, the SBMA said, quoting the Ecology Center manager Amethya Dl. Koval.

The report noted that the degree of burns on the victims indicated "inadequate precautionary measures in handling hazardous materials, and inadequate provision of appropriate fire extinguishing equipment."

Hanjin also lacked safety warnings in high-risk and hazardous work places, the report said. It had no daily "toolbox," referring to safety meetings that help remind workers on the hazards of operations.

The investigation also confirmed that only one nurse was on duty at the time of the accident. The company, it said, did not hire a company doctor.

"Under occupational safety and health standards, the presence of only one health worker in the shipyard is inadequate," the center said.

It recommended that Hanjin "be required to meet all occupational health and safety standards as determined by concerned government agencies, including the SBMA."

"It should establish a health safety and environment (HSE) unit composed of adequately-trained technical personnel to oversee the implementation of HSE programs, to avail only of the services of SBMA-accredited service contractors, and to secure the services of a third-party auditor for safety compliance," the center added.

The SBMA had not disputed Hanjin’s initial findings that the "most probable cause of the fire was ignition of leaking oxygen gas, and that the fire may have been exacerbated by the presence of lube oil on the floor of the working area."

Most of the center’s findings confirmed the work safety issues gathered by the labor group Manggagawa para sa Kalayaan ng Bayan from two foremen of subcontractors and from Hanjin’s own workers.

Makabayan pursued its own investigation as a way of protecting the wellbeing of some 8,000 workers at Hanjin.

Salonga said Hanjin could afford to institute the safety measures. "It has been cooperative with us," he added.

On the heels of what SBMA called an "industrial accident," the agency has been helpful rather than antagonistic to Hanjin, Salonga said.

Hanjin put in the single biggest foreign direct investment in the Philippines, at $1.6 billion, in 2005.

"Its economic contribution is significant. Forty percent of its investment goes to labor. Its export value (from the ships that it builds in the Subic plant) will be also significant," Salonga said.