Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Quek Siow Kai joined Gul Engineering and Singapore’s growing marine industry. He learned a lot there, but decided to leave for his own safety. Largely because management wanted to build and repair ships quickly, subcontractors and workers were often not aware of the dangers in a shipyard. This culminated in the 1978 Spyros explosion and fire – Singapore’s worst industrial accident. Nevertheless, there were experienced sifus in what was a Cantonese-speaking industry. They trained new workers and helped the industry succeed.

00:00 Unsafety in the Marine Industry

07:41 The Push for Productivity

09:31 The Role of Management

17:08 Dangers in a Shipyard

25:55 The Spyros Tragedy

32:16 Sifus & Old Hands

43:24 A Cantonese Industry

Inquiry Report on the Explosion and Fire on Board S.T. Spyros, 12th October 1978.

https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/book-detail?cmsuuid=119cee73-85f5-4555-997c-e73aa4b4ba31

I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

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