Over 20 Workers Seriously Injured After Jack-Up Rig Tilts at Jurong Shipyard, Singapore

According to Sembcorp Marine, an incident occurred this morning during a jacking test onboard one of the jack-up rigs under construction in Jurong Shipyard – the Noble Regina Allen.

All personnel working onboard are accounted for with no fatalities.  A total of 90 workers were sent to various hospitals for follow-up observations.  77 workers had been discharged with 12 admitted to hospitals for treatment and observation and the balance under review.

The shipyard is presently investigating the cause of the incident. As investigations are in progress, the company is unable to provide further details at this stage. 

Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) stated that preliminary findings indicate that the jack-up mechanism of one of the legs of a three-legged jack-up rig had failed, causing the rig to tilt to one side. They also confirmed that 90 workers have been sent to 4 hospitals – the majority had minor injuries with one worker in a critical condition and 22 seriously injured.

Officers from MOM’s Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate responded immediately and are on-site investigating the accident. All work has stopped at the listing rig.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary (SPS) for Manpower, Hawazi Daipi, commented: “MOM takes a very serious view of the accident – this is one of the worst industrial accidents we have seen in recent times. The priority now is to look after the injured and ensure that they receive the best care possible. It is also important to stabilize the situation at the work site and investigate the accident thoroughly to find out what went wrong. I would just like to remind all employers that safety of workers is of paramount importance and we should learn from every accident that has happened so that we will not see a recurrence of similar accidents.”