Seward ship repair facility cited for alleged safety violations

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today issued $87,300 in citations to Seward Ship's Drydock for "alleged willful, serious and repeat violations of safety and health standards" at the ship repair facility in Seward.

According to OSHA, which began investigating the facility after a complaint was filed about conditions on the dredging barge Paula Lee, the work site had multiple safety issues, including lack of gas testing in confined spaces, trip and electrical hazards, and danger of being struck by compressed air equipment and damaged hooks and slings.

The administration also found repeat violations of use of damaged welding leads, cables and ladders and the existence of fall hazards because of open hatches.

A "willful" violation is one "committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard of worker safety and health," according to OSHA. The citations allege Seward Ship's Drydock knew or should have known about the hazards that could have caused death or serious harm to workers at the facility, OSHA said.

"When an employer is indifferent to its OSHA Act obligation to provide a safe workplace, OSHA will use its full enforcement authority to change that attitude," Richard Terrill, OSHA regional administrator in Seattle, said in a statement.

Seward Ship's Drydock has 15 business days to comply, request a conference with an OSHA official or contest the citations and associated penalties.

Reached this afternoon, facility production manager Kenny Willis said the inspection came in April in response to a complaint by what he characterized as a "disgruntled employee." The team inspected the Paula Lee, which was from California, as crews were setting up and taking down a work site aboard it, he said.

"It was the final stages of the barge and the barge had moved from dry dock to a water location -- so it was to the pier -- and so people were reorganizing and setting up and they came right in the middle of it," Willis said. "I think they've taken a lot of things out of context. I'm not happy with the citations, obviously."

Willis said the company undergoes bimonthly inspections for its insurance and has a clean record other than some minor injuries here and there. The company was still reviewing the citations and had not yet decided what the next course of action would be, he said.

"We're going to review it and if there's problems, we're going to deal with them," Willis said. "We have very good safety records, and I think OSHA has maybe overreacted a bit to a situation."

Find James Halpin online at adn.com/contact/jhalpin or call him at 257-4589.