[2020 National Audit] Average 40 Port Workers Injured Annually... 2 Lose Their Lives Each Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] On the 20th, Member of the National Assembly Maeng Seonggyu of the Democratic Party, belonging to the National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee, analyzed the status of occupational accidents among port workers and the operation status of container terminal cranes submitted by each port authority. The analysis revealed that over the past five and a half years, an average of 40 port workers suffered occupational accidents annually, with 2 of them losing their lives each year.

From 2015 to the second quarter of this year, a total of 223 workers suffered occupational accidents while working at the ports of Incheon, Busan, Ulsan, and Yeosu Gwangyang, averaging 40 workers per year. During the same period, 11 workers died, averaging 2 deaths per year due to industrial accidents. Fatal accidents occurred continuously, with 6 deaths in 2018, 3 in 2019, and 1 in the first half of this year.

The types of accidents with the highest frequency were falls and drops (26.5%) and contact and collisions (26.5%), each accounting for 59 cases.

By region, Busan Port Authority recorded 92 cases of port worker accidents, accounting for 41.3% of the nationwide total of 223 cases, and the number of deaths there accounted for 63.6% of the total 11 deaths.

In particular, at Busan North Port, there was an accident in September where a crane wire snapped causing a container to fall, and in July, a container hanging from a crane fell, injuring the driver. These incidents are representative examples showing that the risk of safety accidents within ports may intensify due to the aging of port handling equipment.

Combining the gantry cranes and transfer cranes operated by the four port authorities, a total of 685 cranes are currently in operation, of which 165 cranes, or 24.1%, are over 20 years old. There are also 41 cranes that are over 30 years old.

Busan Port has 35 aging cranes over 30 years old, including one that is 44 years old, and Ulsan Port has 6 cranes over 30 years old, with 3 of them being 43 years old.

Assemblyman Maeng stated, "As the managing operators of each port, the four port authorities urgently need to prepare measures for the aging cranes that pose a high risk of accidents."

He added, "The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced a 'Comprehensive Plan for Preventing Port Logistics Safety Accidents' last March, but there are criticisms that these safety measures are not being properly implemented on site," emphasizing, "We must devise ways to ensure that these measures are effectively applied in the field."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.