South Marine Systems of Westlake, Ohio, faces $164,540 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines after a large fire erupted in the cargo hold of the Cuyahoga, a commercial iron ore vessel moored at the Port of Ashtabula, the agency announced September 16.

According to OSHA, workers narrowly avoided disaster after a large fire erupted as they welded off paint in the cargo hold.

Acting on a referral from the U.S. Coast Guard, OSHA inspectors determined the fire began while a worker used welding equipment to remove paint in the vessel’s hold. Crew members who had been working below the cargo hold were on a lunch break at the time and avoided the danger of being trapped below the deck because of the fire.

The agency determined the employer didn’t designate a competent person capable of identifying hazards, nor did it have a marine chemist present to test for hazardous atmospheres before welding started. Inspectors also determined South Marine Systems didn’t stop work to assess hazardous conditions and risks when small fires began.

OSHA cited South Marine Systems with 15 serious violations and 1 other-than-serious violation. Agency inspectors found the employer failed to do the following:

• Determine the flammability of the preservative coating on the bulkhead before performing hot work.
• Provide a 1 ½-inch or larger fire hose with a fog nozzle, which would have protected workers from exposure to asphyxiation and fire hazards, while employees used a welder to remove Amerthane 490 off the bulkhead.
• Provide workers with a ladder to exit the water if they fell in, preventing their exposure to hypothermia.
• Develop a fire safety plan.
• Establish an internal and external fire response organization. 
• Ensure a Chinese-speaking employee performing hot work activities could communicate with a Spanish-speaking employee conducting fire watch to ensure awareness of potential fire hazards.
• Verify that employees received a medical examination to ensure fitness for duties involving fighting fires and using fire extinguishers. 
• Provide employees who were exposed to asphyxiation hazards with a self-contained breathing apparatus.
• Train fire watch employees on the basic elements of fighting a fire, including extinguishing agents and methods of extinguishing fires.
• Provide OSHA 300 Logs and Summary Form 300As for 2021–2023.

The Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board opened separate investigations into the incident.

“Fate, not South Marine Systems, helped the cargo vessel’s crew avoid disaster,” Howard Eberts, OSHA’s Cleveland area director, said in an agency statement. “The company’s failure to comply with basic safety requirements for welding operations and working in confined spaces exposed workers to fires, asphyxiation, and other dangers.”

South Marine Systems LLC, headquartered in Pascagoula, Mississippi, has offices in Westlake, according to OSHA.

OSHA orders reinstatement of driver who raised safety concerns

Following a federal whistleblower investigation, OSHA announced September 16 that W-L Construction & Paving Inc., a subsidiary of CRH, a building materials distributor and manufacturer, has been ordered to reinstate a driver and pay $58,318.25 in back wages and interest; $115,694 in compensatory damages; $10,000 in punitive damages; and attorneys’ fees.

The agency concluded that W-L Construction & Paving illegally fired a truck driver after the employee raised concerns that the loads and routes the employer routinely assigned left them fatigued and ill, endangering themselves and others on the road. The driver notified the company that their assigned work would exceed federal safety requirements for sufficient rest breaks and limits on how many hours commercial drivers are on duty.

W-L Construction & Paving has more than 250 employees at 10 asphalt plants in southwest Virginia and northeast Tennessee, according to OSHA.

“W-L Construction & Paving Inc. illegally retaliated against an employee who raised legitimate concerns about their ability to meet the company’s demands without jeopardizing their safety or that of others,” Michael J. Rivera, OSHA’s Philadelphia regional administrator, said in a statement.

OSHA’s whistleblower enforcement authority was established in Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970. The agency is now responsible for whistleblower protections in over 20 federal statutes, involving transportation and food safety, financial and healthcare reform, and securities law.