Korean shipyards, steelmakers rush to keep workers safely cool amid brutal heat wave
Published: 10 Jul. 2025, 17:22
Updated: 10 Jul. 2025, 19:16
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![Hanwha Ocean deploys air-conditioned buses that serve as temporary cooling centers to workers toiling in the heat, the shipbuilder announced July 10. [HANWHA OCEAN]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/07/10/e84bb2bb-1196-4c4d-93d1-0525898bc383.jpg)
Hanwha Ocean deploys air-conditioned buses that serve as temporary cooling centers to workers toiling in the heat, the shipbuilder announced July 10. [HANWHA OCEAN]
Major Korean shipyards and steelmakers are implementing emergency measures to keep outdoor workers cool by extending break times and deploying mobile cooling units, as temperatures continue to exceed 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) across the country.
Hanwha Ocean introduced mobile cooling buses for the first time this year, serving as temporary cooling centers, and plans to concentrate these buses at sites with heavy workloads, according to the shipbuilder on Thursday.
The air-conditioned buses are now most frequently sent to the company’s offshore plant construction zone, where the headcount has surged due to a sharp rise in offshore orders. Hanwha Ocean will ramp up the number of cooling buses through September and rotate them among worksites that have seen the biggest labor increases.
HD Hyundai is also stepping up efforts to help workers cope with the heat.
At HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, the company operates four mobile cooling buses that circle the docks and other key areas during lunch and afternoon breaks.
The firm has also added roughly 50 new rest areas across the shipyard equipped with air conditioning and water dispensers, responding to intense heat this year by strengthening its countermeasures. It recently set up onboard rest spaces as well, allowing employees working on top of ships to take shelter without leaving their posts.
![Steel products are stacked at Pyeongtaek Port in Gyeonggi on July 7. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/07/10/e31ba35a-f1d4-43a7-8ccd-feb2b296a11f.jpg)
Steel products are stacked at Pyeongtaek Port in Gyeonggi on July 7. [YONHAP]
Steelmakers handling blazing molten metal or pushing red-hot slabs with rollers are equally on high alert.
Posco added shaded shelters stocked with ice boxes, bottled water, nutritional supplements and ice packs near its plants. Hyundai Steel restricted high-risk work on rooftops and inside enclosed spaces and set up mobile rest areas. On Wednesday, Hyundai Steel signed a safety cooperation agreement with 14 partner and subcontractor companies at its Dangjin steelworks.
“In steelmaking, where we handle heavy loads and work with high temperatures and pressure, it’s critical we inspect sites ourselves and fix hazards to prevent heat-related illnesses,” Hyundai Steel CEO Seo Gang-hyun said at the event.
Longer breaks have also become the norm. Korea’s three largest shipbuilders — HD Hyundai, Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries — all adjusted break schedules based on on-site temperatures.
HD Hyundai and Hanwha Ocean lengthen morning and afternoon breaks from 10 to 20 minutes once the perceived temperature surpasses 33 degrees Celsius. Samsung Heavy Industries extends lunch by 30 minutes if temperatures exceed 28.5 degrees Celsius and by an additional hour if they rise above 32.5 degrees Celsius.
BY LEE SU-JEONG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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