So far this year, South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean (formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering has suffered two major safety accidents, resulting in the deaths of two workers. In order to improve safety at the shipyard, Hanwha Ocean will work with a Norwegian safety organization to introduce the highest level of international safety management system in the Korean shipbuilding industry sector.
Hanwha Ocean announced on March 19 that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with DNV, the world’s leading quality and safety organization, to provide consulting services for theInternational Stereotactic Radiosurgery Society (ISRS) rating. The signing ceremony was attended by 10 representatives from both companies, including Gil-seop Lee, Vice President of Hanwha Ocean, and Jang-seop Lee, Chief Executive Officer of DNV Korea Business Assurance.
Based on this cooperation, the two parties will conduct an objective assessment of Hanwha Ocean’s safety and health status and, based on the results of the assessment, formulate a medium- and long-term strategy to improve management standards. For this, Hanwha Ocean will first conduct an initial assessment of all of its business bases (workplaces) for a period of approximately three months. The company expects to quantify its safety and health management status and confirm its objective safety and health status.
Based on the results of the assessment, Hanwha Ocean will work with DNV over the next five years to innovatively improve its safety and health system. Hanwha Ocean aims to ultimately achieve an ISRS rating from DNV in order to create a “zero accident” workplace.
It is understood that ISRS was developed by Dr. Frank E. Bird in 1974 based on data from a study of the causes of 1.75 million accidents. The system has been revised nine times and is now recognized as the world’s leading safety rating system, which not only assesses safety but also sustainability in terms of social, environmental and economic losses. The ISRS evaluates 15 items, including planning and management, risk assessment, risk management, emergency preparedness and response, and risk monitoring, and assigns a 10-level “ISRS Rating” based on the results of the evaluation. Currently, the ISRS has conducted assessments at more than 100 sites in Korea and about 12,000 sites worldwide.
Among various South Korean companies, Hanwha TotalEnergies is the first in the country to receive an ISRS 8 rating assessment. If Hanwha Ocean successfully obtains an ISRS rating, it will become the first Korean shipbuilder to receive an ISRS rating.
In January of this year, two major accidents occurred at Hanwha Ocean, resulting in the deaths of workers. On the afternoon of January 12, a 28-year-old worker of a subcontracting company was thrown out by the shockwave of an explosion in a production plant at Hanwha Ocean Geoje Shipyard and died after being taken to the hospital. And on the afternoon of January 24, a 31-year-old worker was found unconscious while diving to remove foreign objects from the hull of a ship at the Hanwha Ocean Geoje Shipyard, and was subsequently taken to the hospital for resuscitation, but was pronounced dead at 5 p.m. the same day.
Although Hanwha Ocean’s expenditure on safety management has been increasing year by year, frequent accidents still indicate the need for practical measures.In 2023, Hanwha Ocean invested KRW 321.2 billion (about US$ 240 million) in safety management, and this year it plans to expand it to KRW 350 billion (about US$ 262 million), aiming to further strengthen safety management.
