SIBU: The Sarawak Department of Safety and Health (DoSH) and Sibu Shipyards Association (SSA) are compiling a booklet to address the high number of fatalities in the nation’s shipbuilding industry.
Sarawak DoSH Occupational Health vice-director Saiful Azhar Mohd Said said the nine deaths reported nationwide so far this year are a cause for concern and concrete actions need to be taken now to prevent more.
“Of the nine deaths, four of them are in Sibu. Three of the four died in confined space (within working area) and the others, from falls. The four are all foreigners,” he said after launching a seminar on Generic Hierarchy for Shipbuilding Sector under Compliance Programme Support here today.
The three workers were reported to have inhaled poisonous gases while doing welding work in the hull of a vessel.
Sarawak DoSH, Saiful said, would be gathering input from the participants, who are from 45 shipbuilding companies here, and would then compile the data into a booklet.
Contents would mainly touch on safety aspects and covers four areas – confined space, fall from height, electric, and dos and don’ts.
“The findings in the booklet will be shared with shipbuilders throughout the country so that they will be more aware of the general hazards in the industry and take steps.”
The booklet will be ready by the end of this year and will be in several languages.
Meanwhile, SSA president Ngieng Ping Sing said the inaugural seminar was timely.
“We believe this seminar will enhance the safety awareness among the industry players. We aim to create a healthy and safer working environment, to protect the safety of the industry workers, improve quality and to ensure that the industry will remain competitive and to develop the local shipbuilding industry into a world-class one.”
The country’s shipbuilding industry generates an estimated RM6.4 bln in revenue annually and provides employment to 35,000 people.
There are about 100 shipyards nationwide, and most are concentrated in Sibu (49) and Miri, specialising in building and repairing small to medium-sized vessels such as tugboats, offshore support vessels, barges, anchor handlers and passenger boats among others.
Shipyards in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia focus on building and repairing naval/patrol vessels, and fabricating offshore structures, while most in the east coast concentrate on fishing vessels.
