OSHA launches investigation into worker's death at Fraser Shipyards
Dec. 6—SUPERIOR — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has launched an investigation with C and L Contracting in connection with the death of a worker Monday at Fraser Shipyards.
The incident occurred around 11:50 a.m. Monday.
A 64-year-old man from Watertown, Wisconsin, was found dead at Fraser Shipyards after reportedly falling off a ship in dry dock.
"Preliminary information is that an employee was standing on a railing in order to pull a tarp, and he slipped and fell, landing in the dry dock area," said Scott Allen, regional director for public affairs and media relations with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Lifesaving efforts were made, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a news release issued Monday by the Superior Police Department.
While the incident remains under investigation, the Superior Police Department does not suspect this was "anything other than a tragic accident," the news release stated.
Allen said OSHA will not have any further information until its investigation is complete — by law, the agency has six months to finish.
The owners of C & L Contracting of Gillett, Wisconsin, were unavailable for comment Tuesday. Staff at Fraser Shipyards said the company would not be commenting on the incident.
Monday's fatal accident is the second in five years at the Superior-based shipyard.
Welder Joseph Burch died of sepsis
after he was burned in a workplace incident aboard the docked freighter Roger Blough in 2017. OSHA concluded that Burch was wearing frayed coveralls and not provided with fire-retardant gear as he washed old welds using an oxygen-acetylene torch in a cargo hold.
