Worker dies at Hyundai’s yard during Aasta Hansteen construction

A worker has died in an accident at Hyundai Heavy Industries’ yard in Ulsan, South Korea while working on Statoil’s Aasta Hansteen project. 

According to Offshore.no, a Norwegian-language news website that quoted Stavanger’s Aftenblad, the worker was not employed by Statoil but worked for Hyundai on Statoil’s project.

Offshore Energy Today has reached out to Statoil seeking confirmation and further details about the incident.

The company’s spokesperson said: “Sadly we received the tragic news yesterday that a person working on the Aasta Hansteen project at the HHI offshore yard in South Korea died from the injuries he sustained when falling from a stair turret. The accident occurred in association with the construction of the Aasta Hansteen topsides.”

The spokesperson also added that following a stoppage after the incident, the work resumed today.

“The incident will be investigated by HHI, and Statoil will follow the investigation closely,” the spokesperson concluded

This is the second reported accident at Hyundai while the shipyard was working on the Aasta Hansteen project. Namely, one worker suffered injuries in March this year also while working on the Aasta Hansteen hull for Statoil’s new spar platform.

The South Korean shipyard is building the 70,000-tonne platform for the Aasta Hansteen field located in the Norwegian Sea. The field is being developed with a floating integrated platform of the spar type and two subsea templates with a total of eight well slots.

The Aasta Hansteen spar will be the first spar deployed in Norwegian waters, the first spar concept chosen by Statoil, and the largest ever built with a total hull length of 195 meters.

While initially scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2017, the production from the field was postponed in October 2015 due to delays in construction of the platform with first gas now expected in 2018.

The article has been updated with Statoil’s statement. 

Offshore Energy Today Staff