Offshore rig safety breach caused 'significant risk of harm'

An offshore drilling firm has said it is making safety improvements after an accident with a lifting system caused what inspectors said was a "significant risk of harm" to workers.

It happened on Odfjell Drilling's Deepsea Atlantic rig while it was working in the Rosebank field, approximately 80 miles (130km) north-west of Shetland, on 18 April.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said Odfjell did not ensure there were properly working failsafes on the rig's system for lifting and lowering loads in the drilling derrick.

No-one was injured and there was no environmental damage, but a blowout prevention valve and 400m (1,300ft) of riser pipework were lost to the sea floor.

The system's four electric motors tripped, causing a loss of control with a load of more than 600 tonnes on the hook.

The system's emergency disc brakes were applied but these failed to prevent the load from descending uncontrollably, pulling a wire rope from its drum.

The rope flayed, damaging the structure and equipment of the drilling derrick.

The HSE issued an improvement notice for two breaches of the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act, as well as two breaches of regulations relating to the use of equipment.

It said the incident posed a significant risk of harm to persons from falling debris in various areas of the rig.

In a statement the company said: "Odfjell Drilling recognises the notice served by the HSE and is actively engaging with suggested findings from its regulators."