The Singapore Ministry of Manpower Reported today that a jackup rig tilted at Jurong Shipyard injuring about 90 workers. Fortunately the majority of the workers had minor injuries although one worker was reported to be in a critical condition and 22 more were seriously injured. Some of the injured are said to have been sent to National University Hospital (NUH) and Alexandra Hospital. All injured shipyard personnel has been dispatched to four hospitals.
Sembcorp Marine, owner of the shipyard, stated that the incident happened at 10:30 am during during a jacking test onboard one of the jackup rigs under construction. The shipyard is currently investigating the cause of the incident.
Preliminary findings indicate that the jack-up mechanism of one of the legs of a three-legged jackup rig had failed, causing the rig to tilt to one side, said the ministry.
All work has stopped at the rig, and work safety and health inspectors are on-site investigating the accident, it added.
Update 1: 04 Dec. 2012
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has confirmed with Jurong Shipyard that all workers have been accounted for. Of the 89 workers who were sent to hospital for treatment after the accident, the majority of workers have been discharged from hospital after receiving treatment for minor injuries.
Preliminary findings suggest that one of the jacking mechanisms failed for the rig Noble Regina Allen berthed at the shipyard, causing the main hull of the rig to list to one side, leading to the accident.
The next step is to investigate the cause of the incident and among other identify the following:
- Were there effective procedures in place?
- What were the procedures in place?
- Were they followed as required?
- Were the procedures effective?
Update 2: 02 Mar. 2013
During late January RIGZONE reported that Noble Corporation confirmed in an earnings conference call that the Noble Regina Allen (400′ ILC jackup), is now securely berthed by Jurong Shipyard.
Noble Corp’s Chairman and CEO David Williams noted that an investigation conducted by Jurong Shipyard and Friede & Goldman (F&G) shows that the legs, jacking system and hull suffered no structural damage.
Sources: MOM, Channel News Asia, The News Tribune, RIGZONE
Officer of the Watch 
Leave a Comment