How underwater welders risk death to keep bridges and piers standing

Business Insider

Underwater welders have one of the world's riskiest jobs. We followed welders in Indonesia who dive with minimal protection in polluted waters to build piers for petrochemical plants that are booming across the country.

Transcript

00:00This welder is holding in his hands a tool that carries as much electricity as a power

00:08line.

00:10A simple slip could kill him in an instant, making underwater welding the most dangerous

00:17job in the world.

00:24But it's also essential to keep bridges standing, oil pipes from leaking, and massive

00:31ships from sinking.

00:35Here in Indonesia, it's one of the highest paying jobs, earning welders up to $15,000

00:42in just one week.

00:46And they're in such demand that the government is paying to train certified divers to weld.

00:54Still, they often work with minimal protection.

01:01So why is there so much need for underwater welders in Indonesia?

01:08And does paying these workers well actually make up for the risks?

01:18Suhendra is preparing to leave on a four-month assignment.

01:22Long trips are part of his job, but this goodbye feels harder than usual.

01:38Suhendra has four children.

01:41Now he's leaving his 14-year-old son, Yusuf, in charge.

02:08Today, he'll be diving in the Indian Ocean by an industrial zone on the coast of Silikon.

02:31He'll be working below a pier that's still under construction, about a mile and a half

02:36from shore.

02:39His job is to attach a white box called a sacrificial anode to the iron pillars.

02:46The anode is made from a more reactive metal, usually zinc or aluminum.

02:51It will rest in place of the column, saving the main structure.

02:57The anode has to be replaced every five years.

03:03There are 900 pillars here, and Suhendra's company is responsible for 471 of them.

03:13Suhendra will dive with his mentee, 27-year-old Rangga Ahmed Maulana.

03:34Diving raises blood pressure, so they need to check their vitals.

03:40Still, there's only so much they can prepare for.

03:54This crew sets up the air compressor that will pump oxygen to Suhendra and Rangga.

04:01Today, they'll go down with a simple cap and goggles.

04:31Instead of carrying a tank on their backs, the men breathe through this blue tube, called

04:36an umbilical.

04:41It's the only thing tying them to the boat.

04:58The anode is lowered with the help of a rope.

05:06Suhendra and Rangga communicate mostly through hand gestures, while finding the right spot

05:11on the column.

05:29After about 15 minutes, they strap it to the pillar.

05:35And start welding.

05:40This is where the real danger begins.

05:58The water significantly increases the chances of a lethal electric shock.

06:07The rod is charged negatively, and the anode is positive.

06:13So electricity will naturally flow from one to the other to complete a circuit.

06:19But you need a lot of electricity to melt the rod and attach the box to the pillar.

06:24The heat forms gas bubbles that act as shields, stopping the electric current from escaping.

06:36If they touch the tip of the welding gun, they'd die in an instant.

06:42A shaky hand could cause an accident.

06:45And it can be hard to keep a steady grip.

07:02They wear only two sets of gloves and a standard wetsuit.

07:07In the U.S., divers use a lot more protection.

07:11But they're still about 40 times more likely to die on the job than the average worker.

07:18Making this the deadliest job out there.

07:24Rangga has been shocked before, but he was lucky he didn't become unconscious.

07:41It takes the divers an hour and a half to attach one anode.

08:09They swim up every time they finish one.

08:17Pressure at this depth is about twice what it is on the surface.

08:25If they go up too fast, nitrogen in their body forms bubbles and blocks blood flow to

08:31important organs like the brain or the heart.

08:42Suhendra visits a decompression chamber every three months.

08:56The diving has already taken a toll on Rangga.

09:16The pier they're working on will eventually connect ships carrying crude oil to this brand

09:22new $39 billion petrochemical plant that will turn it into plastic.

09:29It's part of a big investment push Indonesia is making in the oil industry.

09:35The government has offered certain companies up to a 100% tax reduction for a decade.

09:42They are to build 22 new petrochemical plants by 2025.

09:47And this is a business that's expanding across the world.

09:53Reports project that by 2050, petrochemicals will account for nearly half of the growth

09:58in global oil demand.

10:00We're seeing a huge rush to build additional capacity to produce ever more plastics.

10:07And this is not an accident, but it is the plan of the oil and gas industry to continue

10:13to monetize as much of a barrel of oil as the industry can.

10:19In the U.S., petrochemical plants have been the source of major controversy because they

10:24emit toxic chemicals that are known carcinogens.

10:29We see enormous releases of toxic pollution.

10:34Human rights organizations have called the areas near the petrochemical plants sacrifice

10:39zones.

10:40They also pollute waterways.

10:43Tiny pellets called nurdles easily slip into drains at factories, or sometimes spill out

10:49of cargo containers during transport.

10:52And they end up killing the fish and birds that eat them.

11:00Indonesia is already the fourth most polluted country in the world.

11:05Landfills are at capacity.

11:07Today, nearly the entire population lives in areas where air pollution exceeds the WHO's

11:14safe air standards.

11:17That's shortening Indonesia's lifespans by about one and a half years.

11:23The country has launched laws to cap greenhouse gas emissions.

11:28But reports indicate those are rarely enforced.

11:33Now experts fear that building petrochemical plants will create more problems.

11:39So the plastics industry has done a good job of convincing the public that the plastics

11:45crisis is one of consumer behavior, that the problem is litter.

11:50And that couldn't be further from the truth.

11:56The government has promised the investments will create thousands of jobs.

12:02And in a country where 25 million people live under the poverty line, surveys have found

12:08that many here are more concerned with economic prosperity than with environmental issues.

12:14I feel that I'm only doing this for work.

12:18I'm doing this to make a living.

12:21And I'm friendly with nature.

12:24So nature knows what's best for us.

12:27Safety first!

12:28Yes!

12:29The crew is done for the day, but it will take them another four months to finish all

12:34the pillars.

12:37The construction phase alone has employed 13,000 workers so far.

12:42Once this plant is completed, it will need 1,000 workers to keep it running.

12:59Suhendra is looking forward to seeing his children again soon.

13:04He says his son wants to do the same work one day.

13:09Suhendra worries that these waters might be too polluted by the time he grows up.

13:39We have to protect the sea.

13:41We have to protect it together.

13:43The sea is not a place for garbage.

13:45When we can protect the sea, it means our grandchildren can enjoy the sea.

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