The South Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor has reportedly asked the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) Okpo yard to stop construction works on the five liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers.
The move follows a fire accident on a vessel at the shipyard, which killed one worker and injured seven others.
The fire reportedly broke out aboard a gas carrier and was triggered from the sparks of a welder’s torch, according to Marine Log.
Work on the LPG carriers will not restart until safety is guaranteed, the ministry stated.
This incident is the second to have occurred at the shipyard within a span of three months.
A similar incident that occurred in August this year at the shipyard killed two workers while injuring seven others.
The fire broke out in a dry dock eight at DSME’s Okpo shipyard while the workers were welding inside a hull of an LPG carrier.
Following this, the government reportedly warned DSME with an order of a week-long work suspension.
The shipbuilder is set to introduce plans to improve the education of its workers on safety, Yonhap news agency reported.
However, it has not yet been disclosed when DSME’s Okpo yard will resume operations and how will the delivery scheduled be affected.
Currently, DSME has contracts for LPG carriers to be delivered to BW Group, Dorian LPG and Shandong Shipping.
