10.04.2026

Triple port crane fatality

Three men have died, one is still missing and one is seriously injured, following a marine crane dismantling incident at a dockside steel plant in Kawasaki City, on the south side of Tokyo, Japan.

This incident occurred on Tuesday night, April 7th, when a crew were in the process of dismantling an old IHI dockside crane. A large 35 metre scaffold tower was supporting the counterweight, while additional towers supported the boom and front end.

The five men directly involved in the incident, two in their 20s, two in their 40s and one teenager were reported to have been working on the 500 tonne barrel shaped six by nine metre concrete counterweight, apparently breaking it up, rather than attempting to use a large crane to lift it down, which is understandable given the height, the weight and possible load bearing capacity.

Work on the crane continued in spite of strong winds in the area, but what actually set off the incident is still unclear, although it is clear that the steel-encased concrete counterweight broke away from the ‘counter jib’ and the scaffold support collapsed, which occurred first and caused the incident remains unknown - or has simply not been communicated.

Either way, the counterweight plummeted 30 metres or more to the deck, smashing through it, and possibly taking some of those working below with it into the water. At least one excavator was overturned, while a four axle Rough Terrain /city crane had a very lucky escape.

The Kanagawa Prefecture Police confirmed that the incident occurred at the JFE Steel steelworks in Ogishima, Kawasaki Ward, Kawasaki City, during the dismantling of a crane. It also confirmed that three of the four men, all company employees, taken to the hospital, were dead, naming them as Kenshiro Chiba, Yu Koike, and Katsumi Ueyama.