Australian union files safety complaint against Japan's Inpex (updated)

INPEX

08/06/2026 08:41

Updates with safety regulator comment in paragraphs 6-7, adds details
By Rajasik Mukherjee and Helen Clark

    June 8 (Reuters) - An Australian union said on Monday that it had filed a complaint against Japan's Inpex 1605.T with Australia's offshore energy regulator, alleging that the company is using unqualified workers to operate critical equipment at its Ichthys liquefied natural gas facilities.
      The Offshore Alliance, made up of the Maritime Union of Australia and the Australian Workers' Union, filed the complaint with the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA).
"INPEX have been using non-competent personnel to monitor the CCR (central control room) panel during periods of Protected Industrial Action on their CPF and FPSO facilities," it said in a Facebook post.
"The health and safety of our members is being put at risk by INPEX's deliberate acts of gross negligence and they must be held to account," it added.
Inpex did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
NOPSEMA confirmed it had received the complaint and was investigating but did not elaborate.
"The health and safety of offshore workers is NOPSEMA’s priority, and we expect all titleholders to comply with their accepted safety case and legislative requirements," an emailed statement said.
The complaint came as the union said on Monday that workers at the Ichthys facilities would escalate a strike after talks with the Japanese operator failed to progress.
Union workers, who also include members of the Electrical Trades Union, will ramp up stoppages and bans at the facilities which commenced last Wednesday.
If an agreement is not reached by Thursday, wider strike activity will begin, including a ban on loading LNG onto vessels.
Ichthys accounts for about 10% of LNG supply from Australia, the world's second-largest LNG exporter.
       

(Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee; Editing by Sonia Cheema, Kirsten Donovan)
((Rajasik.Mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com;))