Workers hospitalized after jack-up tilts at Jurong Shipyard

DECEMBER 3, 2012 — Eighty-nine workers were hospitalized this morning after the newbuild jack-up rig Noble Regina Allen tilted during a jacking test at Sembcorp Marine’s Jurong Shipyard, Singapore.

There were no fatalities. As of 8.00 pm this evening local time, out of the 89 admitted to hospital, 77 had been discharged, six were in normal hospital wards while the other six more were under observation.

Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) says that preliminary findings indicate that the jack-up mechanism of one of the legs of the three-legged jack-up rig failed, causing the rig to tilt to one side.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary (SPS) for Manpower Hawazi Daipi called the incident “one of the worst industrial accidents we have seen in recent times.”

Workers told Channel NewsAsia that they were conducting welding, fitting and piping works on the rig when it started to tilt.