SUBIC BAY FREEPORT--(UPDATE) The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) ordered a stop to the operations of the construction arm of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Philippines Inc. (HHIC-Phil) on Friday after another worker had died.

The death of Mario Atrero, 52, an employee of Hanjin Construction Corp. Ltd. (HCCL), was the third at the Korean shipbuilding site in nine days.

It brought to 12 the number of work-related deaths at the facility since it began operations in 2006.

Hanjin officials said most of the casualties in the earlier accidents had been hired by subcontractors. But Atrero was said to be in the direct employ of HCCL.

"The [safety] situation at the shipyard has become alarming," SBMA administrator Armand Arreza said.

He said HCCL was served the cease-and-desist order at 6 p.m. on Friday, two hours after Atrero was hit and killed by a steel frame that collapsed due to strong winds.

Four other workers--identified by the SBMA as Joel Alido, Darvin Silva, David Alcayaga and Leody Abad, all residents of Zambales--were injured.

Force majeure

Hanjin general manager Pyeong Jong Yu said that "by way of courtesy, the management actually ceased operations immediately after the fatal accident and even before the SBMA issued the [order]."

"We have stopped all operations except those related to the preparations for the ceremony to launch the first ship ever made in Subic," he said.

Pyeong sought understanding for the work-related deaths, saying the accident that killed Atrero was caused by "force majeure."

Two other workers died last week in separate accidents at the shipyard.

On June 11, Rafael Careg died when the pickup he was riding in was hit by a crane boom truck. Four days later, Oliver Labay, 32, died after a ship wall collapsed on him at 1:50 a.m.

The SBMA Ecology Center has issued a notice of violation against Hanjin. The SBMA has also made arrangements with the Korean firm to establish its own safety monitoring office at its work site.

July 4 inauguration

Despite the cease-and-desist order on HCCL operations, Pyeong said Hanjin would proceed with the inauguration of the first ship built on its Subic shipyard on July 4.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is scheduled to attend the event, he said.

He also said the order covered only Hanjin's construction arm--a point that SBMA ecology chief Amethya Koval confirmed in a text message.

Pyeong explained that the two firms were "different," with HHIC-Phil engaged in manufacturing ships, and HCCL, in building the shipyard and other structures in the 354-hectare site off Redondo Bay in Subic.

Construction activities and shipbuilding works "happen at the same time" in the same area, he said, adding:

"Temporarily, there is no work [at the construction site]. We have advised [workers] to stay home until further notice."

Pyeong said the management would "try to minimize the adverse effect" of the order--a reference to the nonpayment of wages to its 8,000 employees.

"We will try to [have the cease-and-desist order lifted] as soon as possible by explaining the situation and complying with the findings of the SBMA," he said.

Safety requirements

Last week, Arreza said the SBMA had recommended the termination of contracts of three subcontractors found to have been remiss in implementing safety requirements.

He named the subcontractors as Trigon/Bodahh Inc., whose worker fell from the roof of a building on March 11; Globe Distribution Services, whose two workers were pinned and killed by a collapsing metal beam on March 10; and DMK/Philnorkor, whose worker fell from a truck in December 2007.

Arreza said HHIC-Phil president Jong Sup Shim had relayed to him the company's regrets for the accidents.

He said Jong had also issued the assurance that Hanjin would abide by SBMA requirements on safety procedures at the shipyard.

Arreza said Hanjin was told on Wednesday to complete all occupational health and safety requirements within 30 days.

"Otherwise, we will suspend their operations--not just the construction activities but also the shipyard operations," he said.

He also said the SBMA and the Department of Labor and Employment had talked about conducting a third-party quality audit of all shipyard equipment and safety performance, creating an interagency occupational health and safety superbody at the shipyard, and requiring the weekly submission of job safety and occupational health reports to the SBMA.

Task Force Hanjin

Ramon Lacbain II, head of Task Force Hanjin, called on President Arroyo to order concerned government agencies to join the SBMA investigation, "so we can get to the bottom of the incidents that led to the deaths of Hanjin workers."

The task force was formed by the Zambales government to monitor the conditions of workers at the shipyard.

Olongapo City Councilor John Carlos de los Reyes assailed Hanjin for the series of accidents and urged the SBMA to "close the company entirely."

"If the deaths are normal and are to be expected in a shipyard, we ought to close the whole thing down," he said.

But Pyeong said: "Mostly, the accidents can be attributed to human error. But we are strictly implementing safety programs.

"Hanjin is implementing safety requirements more than the law requires."

Pyeong also said Hanjin had been "very, very strict when it came to safety."

Trying to minimize deaths

"Our employees are being made aware of the dangers. But they are at the beginning stage. They are not well oriented. The minds of the workers have not yet been trained," he said.

"We are trying to improve safety issues but it is clear that in this industry, deaths cannot be entirely prevented. But we are trying to minimize them."