'NOT TAKING SAFETY LIGHTLY': DryDocks said it had intensified its safety drive since its first accident in June. During welding works, for instance, a "fire watchman" - the worker in the red helmet - is present with a fire extinguisher to ensure safety. -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG

The 20-year-old was part of a team washing a ship's hull with a high-powered jet at DryDocks World Singapore when he fainted while shifting a powerful spotlight.

Investigations are ongoing but his collapse was likely due to electric shock, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

It was the eight death in the industry since June 8, and the third serious accident at DryDocks World in about six weeks.

On June 17, two workers died from a suspected carbon dioxide leak onboard a ship undergoing repair. They were believed to have suffocated. A week after that, another worker was burnt during a fire on another ship.

DryDocks World Singapore is part of a Dubai-based conglomerate. The Tuas Crescent shipyard has about 2,000 workers, over half of whom belong to sub-contractors.

The worker who died on Friday was said to have been wet at the time of the accident. The light was not supposed to be moved.

Following the death, the MOM ordered DryDocks to stop using electrical equipment until they have been inspected and certified safe for use by 'competent' personnel.

An MOM spokesman added that the ministry's officers had met with the shipyard's management since the first accident to 'emphasise the urgent need for better safety management'.

'Where appropriate, we will take prosecution action to mete out appropriate penalties for safety lapses,' she said.

When contacted yesterday, DryDocks commercial director S. Krishnakumar said the company's safety drive had been intensified since the first accident in June.

'We're not paying lip service to safety. We don't take it lightly,' he said.

While safety briefs were in place in the past, now, they take place daily after lunch and include all shipyard workers. They are divided into groups and briefed in their native languages, including Hindi, Bangladeshi and Thai.

Inspections by senior managers around the yard have also 'increased in frequency' to pinpoint areas for improvement. Safety audits had been performed.

The director said: 'We have a system of continual improvement. If there's something more we should do, we'll definitely go out and make it happen.'

With the latest accident, the toll in the beleaguered shipyard and ship repair industry now stands at eight dead and 18 injured over a two-month period.

The rash of accidents has prompted safety officials to tighten their grip on the 89 shipyards here.

Less than three weeks ago, the Workplace Safety and Health Council organised a forum for more than 300 shipyard management staff and safety experts. It is working with unions to reach out to shipyard supervisors by the end of this month.

'Further efforts to reach workers on the ground will be done through these supervisors,' the MOM spokesman said.

joolin@sph.com.sg