China's Yangzhou Municipal Emergency Management Bureau recently published a report on its investigation into a fatal fire accident that occurred at a local shipyard on August 5, 2025.
On the said date, hot works were being carried out on a Ro-Ro vessel under construction at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard's facilities in Jiangsu.
At around 14:36 local time, employees working for a subcontractor began performing hot works on the vessel without supervision. Less than three minutes later, they discovered a fire near the vessel's port side LNG fuel tank.
The workers attempted to put out the blaze, initially using only their gloved hands and then with an extinguisher, to no avail.
An immediate evacuation was then ordered. However, the arrangement of the scaffolding on the ship made evacuation difficult, and seven subcontractor employees became trapped on board as the fire continued to spread.
Fire and rescue teams arrived on-site later that same afternoon but only four of the seven workers who had become trapped were safely evacuated. Tragically, the three remaining workers were already deceased by the time that they were found the following day.
In addition to the three fatalities, an estimated CNY8.96 million (US$1.3 million) in damages was recorded as a result of the incident.
An investigation determined that the hot works on the vessel were undertaken without proper authorisation, and that there was no standardised procedure for managing hot works activities at the affected shipyard. In particular, the hot works that led to the incident were conducted without supervision, and the personnel who carried out the actual works have not been cleared to do so.
Officials also found that the yard had not sufficiently identified safety risks related to hot works.
The investigating body has recommended the filing of criminal charges against some individuals who are believed to be responsible for the lapses that led to the tragedy.
