KOCHI: Despite the Cochin Shipyard authorities denying any lapses in the shipyard’s safety arrangements, trade union leaders and others on Tuesday alleged flaws in the fire safety mechanism of the PSU shipmaker. Five persons involved in cutting and welding of the bottom water tank of ONGC’s drillship ‘Sagar Bhushan’ were killed in the mishap that occurred at the CSL. “Usually, work on the drydocks is carried out under the supervision of senior fire safety officers. As Tuesday was a holiday on account of Sivarathri, we suspect the safety officers were absent at the spot when the incident occurred,” said a contract employee on condition of anonymity. According to him, the entry to the dock ‘hatcher’ is like a manhole and evacuation of people during an emergency is tough.
Cochin Shipyard Employees Association (INTUC) vice-president John Varghese also alleged lapses in the safety mechanism led to the mishap. “We suspect a failure in the safety mechanism. Though we tried to meet the top brass of the shipyard to know the real facts about the situation, we could not meet any officers, including the CMD,” he said.Meanwhile, Cochin Shipyard CMD Madhu S Nair ruled out any complacency in the fire safety and security system.
“The holiday has not affected the functioning of the shipyard in any way. The work was being carried out in the presence of adequate number of fire safety officers. One of the deceased, Unnikrishnan C S, was a senior fireman with the CSL, while another victim, Gevin, had been working on contract as fire assistant,” he said. “We implement detailed safety procedures. So an investigation will reveal whether standard operating procedures were violated,” Nair said.Besides, the shipyard, the Director of Factories and Boilers Department and Director General of Shipping will also initiate separate inquiries to ascertain whether any flaws in safety had led to the mishap.