Chronicles of Old Singapore | Quek Siow Kai – Shifts, Ships, Sifus & Spyros Part 2

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. Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot. Write to [email protected] if you have stories to share. YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/ Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore