The workers were trying to turn the upper structure to replace some parts in the 50m high crane when the crane’s 30m jib broke, according to a report in the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.
The three men who died fell from a height. The newspaper named them as Yuzo Akase, 55, of Takasago, Hyogo Prefecture; Takeshi Shinohara, 40, of Nada Ward; and Kazuo Yamamoto, 55, of Tarumi Ward, both in Kobe.
The shipyard has apologised for the incident.
