Qingdao Shipyard Fire Kills at Least 20
The cargo ship Ocean Melody caught fire in a shipyard in Qingdao, China, killing at least 20 of its 42 crew members, with five still listed as missing.
At least 20 people are dead and five remain missing after a fire broke out Thursday, September 10, aboard a cargo ship moored at a shipyard in the Chinese city of Qingdao, the state news agency Xinhua reported. For Serbia, the story is more than a distant statistics entry on workplace safety: Chinese state companies, from the copper mines in Bor to the steel mill in Smederevo, have moved deep into the domestic economy in recent years, so the safety standards applied by a shipbuilding giant like China State Shipbuilding Corporation, whose Qingdao yard was hit by the fire, indirectly say something about the work culture of the parent companies now operating in Serbia as well.
The fire broke out on the Ocean Melody, a 190 meter bulk carrier sailing under the Liberian flag, while it was moored at the Beihai shipyard in Qingdao, in China’s eastern Shandong province, for routine maintenance and repairs. According to state broadcaster CCTV, 42 people were on board when the fire started. Seventeen were evacuated, five of them injured, while five are still listed as missing. At least 20 people were found dead.
The fire broke out around 11:15 a.m. local time, or 3:15 a.m. GMT, Xinhua reported. The open flames were extinguished by around 2:30 p.m. local time. Chinese authorities have not yet said what caused the fire.
A firsthand account of how events unfolded came from a resident of a nearby housing complex, who described to the AFP news agency what he saw from his window. “I saw smoke from the ship completely by chance, but there was no visible fire,” he said. “I didn’t hear an explosion, nor did I smell anything.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered an urgent search for the missing and said those responsible should be held accountable, state media reported.
“All regions and relevant departments must draw profound lessons from this incident, and thoroughly investigate and eliminate every type of fire hazard,” Xi Jinping said, according to a statement carried by Xinhua.
Premier Li Qiang ordered that trapped people be rescued, that the injured receive medical care, and that measures be taken to prevent further accidents, according to the official statement.
Who Runs the Shipyard
The Qingdao Beihai shipyard operates as a branch of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, one of the largest shipbuilding conglomerates in the world. Qingdao itself is one of China’s major maritime hubs, connected to more than 700 ports in over 180 countries and regions, according to state media, which makes the accident at its shipyard relevant to global supply chains as well as to local worker safety.
A Pattern of Industrial Accidents in China
The Qingdao fire adds to a string of serious industrial accidents in China over the past year, in a country where workplace safety rules, according to foreign news agencies, are often loosely enforced in practice. In August, an explosion followed by a fire at a shipyard in Fujian province killed one firefighter and injured 12 people. In May, an explosion at a fireworks factory in central China killed 37 people, one of the deadliest industrial accidents in the country in recent years. In July, a fire at a shoe factory in the eastern province of Fujian killed at least 28 people. Last November, China also launched a campaign against fire risks in high rise buildings, after a fire in residential towers in Hong Kong killed 168 people.
What Caused the Fire?
Neither Xinhua nor CCTV has said what caused the fire on the Ocean Melody. China’s president, according to the instructions relayed by state media, has called for a thorough investigation and for accountability to be established, leaving open the question of whether the cause will be made public before that investigation concludes.
The death toll could still change, as the search for the five missing crew members continues, and Chinese authorities have not yet said when they will release further updates on the operation.
