Six people have been killed and more injured after a crane fell down in a South Korean shipyard at the site of Total's Martin Linge platform construction.
According to news agency Reuters, six people were killed in the accident and more than 20 injured. All work at the Geoje yard - run by Samsung Heavy Industries - has been closed down and local authorities and police have started investigations on site, confirmed Total Norge.
Image: Martin Linge, how it should look.
News of the incident broke just days after Norway's Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) had slapped Total E&P Norge with an order, following an audit of the Martin Linge project. The PSA had said, following an audit, which included work at the Samsung yard, late March, that "serious deficiencies had emerged... relating to such areas as preservation, electrical facilities and barrier management." Read more
“We know that a crane fell down on the wellbay module for the Martin Linge platform. The cause of the accident is still unknown,” says Leif Harald Halvorsen, Communication Manager at Total E&P Norge. “We are thinking of those who lost a family member and colleague in this tragic accident. Here in Total E&P Norge we are doing what we can to take care of and support our personnel in South Korea,” says Halvorsen.
Modules for the Martin Linge topsides are being built at the yard. The project, comprising an integrated, fixed production facility and a floating storage and offloading vessel, was due onstream in 2018. It has not been decided when work will restart.
The accident happened at 7.45am Norwegian time on May 1. Total said there were reports of dead and injured workers and that it was working to get a full overview over the situation. No one from the Total project organization were among the dead and injured.
Management from Total E&P Norge and the Martin Linge project are on their way to South Korea support to the project organization and the main contractor, the consortium Technip/Samsung Heavy Industries. Further staff will travel to South Korea on Tuesday.
Late today, Total issued a further statement: "It is now past 5pm Norwegian time, and past midnight in South Korea. As we have not received any verified information from our main contractor, we cannot give any more information from our side on the number of killed or injured in the crane accident," says Communication Manager Leif Harald Halvorsen at Total E&P Norge.
The Martin Linge field, a complex, high-pressure field, was discovered in 1975, about 42km from the Oseberg field. It is estimated to contain about 190 MMboe. The field development involves an integrated wellhead production and accommodation platform on a jacket, with power from shore using what will be the world's longest subsea high voltage AC power cable, with a floating storage unit.
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