Read the initial statement published by the Norwegian NCP - 13 May 2020
Read the final statement published by the Norwegian NCP - 22 February 2023
On 20 March 2019, the Korean Transnational Corporations Watch (KTNC Watch) and Samsung Heavy Industries Martin Linge Project Crane Accident Workers Support Team, two Korean NGOs, submitted a specific instance to the Korean, French, and Norwegian NCPs, alleging that Samsung Heavy Industries, Total, Total E&P Norge, Equinor and TechnipFMC, companies operating in the construction and electricity and gas sectors did not observe the General Policies (Chapter II), Disclosure (Chapter III) and Human Rights (Chapter IV) provisions of the Guidelines. Specifically, the case relates to a serious accident that took place on 1 May 2017 at the Geoje shipyard in South Korea, where two cranes collided and resulted in the death of six workers and 25 injuries. The submission alleges that the companies did not conduct proper due diligence to identify and mitigate the risk of a crane collision.
On 13 May 2020, the Norwegian NCP published its initial statement accepting the case for further consideration. The Norwegian NCP led the handling of the case on issues raised with enterprises based in Europe, in collaboration with the French and United Kingdom NCPs. The Norwegian NCP also coordinated with the Korean NCP, which accepted the case related to the Korean enterprise, Samsung Heavy Industries (see here). The Norwegian NCP noted delays in the process due to the complex coordination, variety of languages represented, and impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The NCP offered its good offices and the parties accepted mediation but were unable to reach an agreement. The NCP conducted an examination of the issues put forward in the complaint. On 22 February 2023, the NCP published a final statement concluding the specific instance without agreement between parties, in which it concluded that the companies did not cause or contribute to the accident, but were directly linked to the accident by their business relationship with Samsung HI. The NCP recommended that the companies include meaningful stakeholder engagement with workers and ensure that workers’ voices are heard in the due diligence process. The NCP further recommended that the companies use their leverage with Samsung HI, where possible, to address the recommendations from the KNCP. Lastly, the NCP recommended that the companies share parts of the investigation report with the complainants, in a way that does not jeopardise trust in the industry’s investigation of accidents
A Follow-Up is planned to take place one year after the publication of the Final Statement.