"KNTC Watch et al vs. Samsung Heavy Industries et al", 20 March 2019

On March 20, 2019... the Samsung Heavy Industries Martin Linge Project Crane Accident Workers Support Team (Worker Support Team) and Korean Transnational Corporations Watch... filed a specific instance against SAMSUNG Heavy Industries (SHI), TOTAL, TECHNIP, and EQUINOR at the Korean, French, and Norwegian National Contact Points. 

On May 1, 2017, during construction of a Martin Linge oil platform at the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in South Korea, a Goliath crane and Jib tower crane collided... [T]he accident killed six workers and injured 25 others... 300 workers witnessed the accident, but have not received treatment for the trauma they have suffered. 

According to the complainants, an investigation agency found that just before the accident, SHI had adopted an unusual and dangerous work method without first undertaking a risk assessment... Complainants assert that TECHNIP, leader of the project consortium and recipient of the construction contract, directly supervised the engineering procedures and failed to advise or order appropriate safety management measures, even though the change of construction method was unusual and dangerous. Complainants argue that TOTAL, which operated the project at the time of the incident, did not ensure proper safety assessments were undertaken, while Equinor, the current operator, declined to disclose the investigation report undertaken by the project group after the accident, which might reveal more information about the accident’s cause. 

The NGOs are seeking mediation by the NCPs to help determine the breaches of the Guidelines that have occurred and to assist in their remediation.