Shipyard fire at Fincantieri Ancona leaves one worker dead and another critically injured

The incident in Ancona

A fatal workplace fire broke out during the night shift on 29 September at the Fincantieri shipyard in the Italian Adriatic port city of Ancona. At approximately 22:15, a sudden flash fire engulfed two workers inside a construction shed located in the central section of the plant while they were carrying out cutting and welding operations on a vessel. Emergency medical responders arrived promptly, transporting both men under emergency red-code status to the Ancona Regional Hospital. A 54 or 55-year-old Tunisian worker, a father, arrived in critical condition and died shortly afterward from extensive burns. The second worker, a 29-year-old Bangladeshi father of two children, suffered severe burns across multiple parts of his body. He was admitted to the anesthesia and intensive care clinic at the university hospital in Ancona before doctors arranged his transfer to the specialized severe burns center in Pisa. Maritime police, regular patrol units, firefighters, and scientific police opened investigations at the site to establish the exact cause, examining whether a spark from an acetylene cutting torch or an electrical fault in a welding machine ignited the blaze.

Union strikes and safety demands

In response to the fatal accident, Italy's three principal metalworkers' unions (Fiom, Fim, and Uilm) organized a protest demonstration outside the shipyard gates early on Wednesday morning. The local union branches launched an immediate eight-hour strike covering all work shifts at the Ancona facility, while national confederations called for a two-hour strike across all Fincantieri shipyards throughout Italy. Union representatives asserted that industrial employers frequently treat workplace health and safety as a financial cost rather than an essential collective standard. Luigi Imperiale, regional secretary of Fim-Cisl, called for full transparency regarding the technical dynamics of the fire to ensure similar accidents are prevented in the future. Speaking at the protest picket outside the Ancona plant, Claudia Mazzucchelli, regional secretary of Uil Marche, demanded structural legal changes to prosecute workplace negligence.

We believe that it is necessary to have a special prosecutor to investigate, as exists in other cases, and to have workplace homicide.

Scrutiny of the subcontracting model

Both victims were employed by an external contracting firm rather than directly by the shipbuilder. Union officials pointed to the layered subcontracting system as a primary vulnerability, arguing that contractual dumping and downward price competition weaken preventative safeguards and protective equipment on work sites. At the Ancona shipyard, roughly 4,000 workers are employed through external contractor firms, compared to only 800 direct Fincantieri employees. Sara Galassi, secretary of Fiom Cgil in Ancona, demanded that the company directly reabsorb a portion of those subcontracted personnel onto its direct payroll.

It is not possible that there are 800 Fincantieri employees and 4,000 from contracting firms in this shipyard.

Marche regional councillor Maurizio Mangialardi added that cascading subcontracts and deficiencies in personal protective equipment remain persistent problems across the shipbuilding sector that require binding protections.

Corporate response and national context

Fincantieri issued a statement conveying deep condolences to the family and colleagues of the deceased worker and expressing support for the injured Bangladeshi employee. The company noted that emergency protocols were activated immediately following the incident and stated that management is collaborating fully with judicial and police authorities conducting on-site technical inquiries. The fatal accident occurs against a broader national backdrop of industrial mortality documented by Italy's national workplace accident insurance agency, INAIL. In its annual report published the previous week, INAIL recorded 1,189 work-related deaths across Italy in 2025. Although that total marked a 3.02% decrease (37 fewer fatalities) compared to 2024, the figures show that Italy continues to record an average of more than three workplace deaths every day.