In the ship hull structure, Grade E steel is used at the rounded gunwale as the arrester for brittle crack. It is generally considered that the welding of eye-plate to this steel plate should be avoided because the brittle fracture strength deteriorates due to the effect of welding superposed on cold working. In this study, the brittle fracture initiation test and the propagation-arrest test were carried out to find the above-mentioned effect. The results obtained are as follows; 1) No unfavourable effect was observed in the superposition of cold working of 3 or 5% and welding. 2) The welding of eye-plate on the rounded gunwale of Grade E steel will be practically no problem.