Two workers conducting stevedoring operations at Tuas Port died on Tuesday morning after the platform carrying them became detached from a crane and plunged into the sea, PSA Singapore and Singapore authorities confirmed Wednesday as investigators began tracing lift procedures at the city-state’s newest mega-terminal.
Sequence of the incident
Channel News Asia reported the episode began around 8:40 a.m. as the men loaded and unloaded cargo from a vessel. The Ministry of Manpower told 8world that both workers were being hoisted in a work platform when it dislodged from the crane and fell into the water.
A 33-year-old man was rescued unconscious and taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A 44-year-old colleague was found in the sea and declared dead at the scene by Singapore Civil Defence Force paramedics. Police said they were alerted at 9:15 a.m. to a work-related incident off Tuas Port Terminal and, based on preliminary inquiries, do not suspect foul play.
Operator and regulator response
PSA Singapore, which operates Tuas Port, said it is cooperating with authorities and supporting the families. MOM has opened a workplace safety investigation, the standard path when fatalities occur on licensed worksites.
CNA noted Singapore recorded 21 workplace fatalities in the first half of 2026, pushing the annualised fatal injury rate to 1.1 per 100,000 workers. In June the ministry tightened penalties on companies that breach safety rules after a cluster of deaths, including longer stop-work orders and higher fines for repeat offenders.
Why Tuas scrutiny matters
Tuas Port is gradually absorbing container traffic from legacy city terminals, with automated yards and heavier crane fleets than older facilities. Unions and ship agents have pressed operators to keep man-riding lift protocols visible as new berths open, especially when stevedoring crews work over water.
Authorities have not said whether the crane, platform or rigging will be impounded, a step MOM sometimes takes when lift gear is implicated in fatal drops. Industry groups said they are waiting for the ministry’s first factual report before commenting on whether national stevedoring rules need revision.
What families and shippers face next
Under the Coroners Act, unnatural deaths trigger inquiries that can take months, parallel to any MOM prosecution decision. PSA did not say whether Tuesday’s berth remained closed, but agents reported normal vessel movements elsewhere at Tuas, suggesting the incident was localised to one crane assignment.
For Singapore readers, the bulletin is blunt: two men died in the water during routine cargo work at the port the country is betting its trade future on. Investigations are just beginning, but the fatality count for 2026 has already climbed again—and the lift that failed is now evidence in two government probes.
