Ester Mbathera
Seven workers from Merlus Fishing were hospitalised on Wednesday morning after inhaling ammonia gas at the company’s factory in Walvis Bay.
Seventeen others received medical treatment at a local hospital and were discharged.
Merlus Fishing’s management chairperson, Stanley Katzao told the Windhoek Observer that none of the affected workers were in a life-threatening condition.
“We deploy best practices in occupational health and that’s why we acted swiftly and decisively when we immediately became aware of the incident,” he said.
Katzao explained that the ammonia gas originated from a crab vessel operated by Russian nationals, docked at Perreira Fishing, a property adjacent to Merlus.
“This vessel had a huge ammonia leak, which was unfortunately blown by the wind in the direction of the Merlus-Cormorant factory,” he said.
He added that the gas entered the factory through the building’s windows.
According to Katzao, the factory’s in-house nurse was the first to respond to the incident.
“She was one of the first people that was deployed to the scene, and she was the one that was assessing people individually, and then she was the one that also made the calls to get medical attention for those that needed additional medical attention. These are the measures that we have in-house to ensure that the occupational safety and well-being of our people are looked after because that is our first priority,” he said.
Videos seen by the Windhoek Observer show several factory workers being assisted by their colleagues in the factory yard near the ocean.
Many were lying unconscious, while others were seen vomiting.
Katsao said he was not aware that the workers were being treated on company premises.
“I was informed they were asked to move over to the Merlus site, which is to the road’s side,” he said.
He explained that the reason why they were inside the yard depended on in which direction the wind was blowing at that particular moment.
“It could have been the assessment of the safety officer that that site was the least affected by the direction of the wind. I just presume that. I cannot conclusively say that that was the reason, but I can confirm,” he said.
Ammonia gas is commonly used in refrigeration systems on fishing vessels and processing plants.
According to the Washington Maritime Injury Lawyers, exposure to ammonia gas can cause severe injuries, including burns to the eyes and lungs, industrial asthma, blindness, and other pulmonary conditions.
The gas is also flammable and can cause explosions when exposed to high heat.
Some employees, speaking anonymously to the Windhoek Observer for fear of victimisation, alleged that while the ammonia alarm went off, company leadership failed to alert them.
They claimed management later asked them to return to work, but they declined.
The Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (Nafau) branch coordinator in Walvis Bay, Johannes Shayuka confirmed that the union had reached out to Merlus management and requested a meeting.
“We got information about the incident from the shop steward. We also reached out to the management, but during that time they were busy with the situation. We wrote a letter requesting a meeting for tomorrow at 10h00,” he said.
