FACTS

Problems For Ship Workers That Make Their Job A Hard One

1. Working Conditions. Extremely cramped spaces while at other times; the mere fall can be high enough to cause serious injury.
2. Timings. Work on shipyards is no nine-to-five job. The extreme nature of their job means the workers have to be available at all times. The erratic time schedules make this job harder than it already is.
3. Machinery Hazard. The machinery used is huge, often requiring immense skill and strength.
4. Slips and falls. The workers on such ships always run a risk of slipping or falling and suffer injuries like multiple fractures, head injuries, traumatic experiences, amputations and sometimes even drowning have been reported.
5. Fires and explosions. Chances of fires, explosions, and electric shocks are high on shipyards.
6. Cramped spaces. A shipyard worker, while working in such tiny spaces is often at risk of physical injuries.
7. Asbestosis and mesothelioma. There are the biggest problems faced by workers working in the ship industry.
8. Improper knowledge. The biggest problem faced by most of the shipyard workers is that they are mostly unaware about the laws and safety measures made to protect them.

STATS

• There are approximately 165,000 workers employed in shipyards in the U.S., spread across 26 states bordering coastal and inland waters. There were at least 45 fatal accidents (4.0 per 100,000) among shipyard workers, higher than the rate for all U.S. workers. There were an estimated 61,600 nonfatal injuries/illnesses during the same period (5,370 per 100,000), nearly twice the rate for all U.S. workers, and one of the highest injury/illness rates among maritime workers.
• Over 70,000 workers died in 2019 from past exposure to asbestos in shipyards.
• In a later study looking at 48 accidents involving ship repair workers, the most frequent part of the body affected by the accidents were hands, lower limbs, and eyes, with the more serious accidents involving mainly hands and upper limbs. Most accidents, 62.5%, occurred on board, and the rest in the workshop.
• Canada’s maritime safety record over the 2007–2011 period has shown marked improvements, as shown in Tables S14 and S15. During that period, accidents dropped 31.5%, from 400 to 274, while fatalities slipped from 13 to 12. The accident rate per million vessel-kilometres dropped by 10.1% to 19.5.
• In 2021, 7,191 facilities reported to the NPRI,