Hanwha Ocean to spend $1.5 billion on safety overhaul after four worker deaths

Hanwha Ocean has earmarked 1.98 trillion won ($1.5 billion) for its safety budget over three years through 2026, the shipbuilder said Wednesday.

Hanwha Ocean's shipyard [HANWHA OCEAN]

Hanwha Ocean has earmarked 1.98 trillion won ($1.5 billion) for its safety budget over three years through 2026, the shipbuilder said Wednesday.

The company plans to increase the annual budget for safety measures by 20 to 30 billion won each year. A total of 350 billion won has been reserved for 2024, an increase of 28.8 billion won from last year. The budgets for 2025 and 2026 are 380 billion won and 400 billion won, respectively.

An additional 846 billion won will be directed to six areas to “fundamentally fix the [workplace’s] safety management system” by eliminating potential safety hazards through 2026.

Of those funds, 700 billion won will fund the pre-emptive replacement of aged manufacturing equipment and facilities while 65 billion won will support the implementation of an AI-powered monitoring system that detects hazards such as fires and explosions for the entire shipyard. Workers will receive devices such as tablets and smartwatches to alert them of such dangers.

Hanwha Ocean will spend 15 billion won to increase its number of safety officers and support for subcontractors. Subcontractors will receive 5 billion won annually to employ mandatory safety managers. There are currently 230 safety officers working on-site, up 100 people from the previous 130 last year; the company aims eventually to employ 250.

Meanwhile, 50 billion won will go toward the launch of a hands-on safety education academy; 9 billion won to establish a working culture centered on safety, which will kick off through a program that a consulting firm Hanwha Ocean plans to hire by the end of this year will provide; and 7 billion won to hire third-party inspectors to regularly conduct safety tests and improve safety management.

Seventeen workers died while working at shipyards as of Sept. 12, according to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. At least four, all of which had been employed through subcontractors, died while working at Hanwha Ocean’s construction sites this year. The latest, a 41-year-old, died after falling from a 32-meter (105-foot) height on the night of Sept. 9.

“After carefully reviewing internal and external criticism and analyzing the company's current safety measures, it was determined that an overall haul of the existing safety management system was needed,” Hanwha Ocean CEO Kim Hee-cheul said in the company’s news release. Kim, who previously served as CEO of Hanwha Energy and Hanwha Impact, was appointed CEO of Hanwha Ocean in late August.

“We will actively review internal and external opinions, work closely with third party experts and related organizations and mobilize all available company resources to strengthen the firm's safety management system,” the CEO said.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]