Worker Killed While Performing Recovery Work on Jurong Jack up Rig

On December 3, 2012, a jack up rig collapsed at Singapore’s Jurong shipyard, injuring more than 80 workers on the rig. Another worker who was working on the recovery of the rig died recently after losing consciousness on board.

The jack up rig, the Noble Regina Allen, tilted suddenly last month, due to suspected brake failure. It tilted approximately 10°, and several of the people on the rig were forced to jump in the water to save themselves. They were approximately 900 people on board at the time of the accident.

Fortunately, no fatalities resulted from the accident, but more than 89 workers were injured. It is believed to one of Singapore’s worst industrial accidents in recent history.

News media have recently reported that one of the workers, an employee of a company hired by Jurong Shipyard to conduct recovery on the rig, has died. The worker lost consciousness while he was working on board the rig. The worker worked for Belfor Asia, which is a disaster recovery and property restoration company. The company had been hired by Jurong Shipyard for protection work on the rig.

The worker’s colleagues noted that he was unconscious on the floor, and alerted safety personnel. He was rushed to the hospital, but succumbed to his injuries later. The cause of death has been registered as coronary atherosclerosis and coronary occlusion.

According to Sembcorp Marine, which is the company that owns the Jurong Shipyard, the deceased worker as well as 2 other workers who were with him, were wearing safety harnesses at the time of the accident.

The Houston maritime lawyers at Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P., Accident & Injury Lawyers  represent workers injured in maritime accidents across Texas.