'Terrifying' North Sea rig incident saw workers lowered into flooded lift shaft
Ithaca Energy (UK) Limited pleaded guilty to safety failings at a hearing at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on June 12, and were issued with a £300,000 fine, the HSE said
An oil and gas operator has been fined £300,000 following a"terrifying incident" on a North Sea rig that saw three workers lowered into a flooded lift shaft. The episode happened on the FPF-1 offshore platform, owned by Ithaca Energy (UK) Limited, during a night shift on December 10, 2020.
The men had been descending in a lift inside one of the platform's legs to carry out routine inspection work at the base of one of the sub-sea columns when they experienced a "rush of air". Before the lift reached the bottom of the shaft it started to fill with water, which was up to the men's knees by the time they were able to stop the lift by pressing the emergency button, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said. They returned to the main deck safely and none of the men sustained any injuries.
An HSE investigation found that hardware failures and incorrect operating procedures had caused the bottom of the lift shaft to flood while the inspection site was being cleared of standing water.
The HSE also found that a lack of water alarms at the bottom of the lift shaft also meant the control room was unaware that water was flooding into the shaft.
The investigation found that water marks on the lift door showed the water had reached a level of just under 1.5m before the lift was stopped.
Meanwhile, Ithaca's own investigation found the water level could have reached more than three metres – which would have made it difficult for the men to have escaped through the top hatch of the lift if the workers had used the lift later, or not been able to stop it as quickly as they did.
Ithaca pleaded guilty to safety failings at a hearing at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on June 12, and were issued with a £300,000 fine, the HSE said.
HSE inspector Ian Chilley said: "This was a terrifying incident for the workers involved, we are just thankful that no physical harm came to them.
"This fine should send a message and reminder to those operating offshore facilities for them to be extra vigilant. It was only a matter of good fortune that this incident didn't result in serious injury, or worse."
The HSE added that when passing sentence, the sheriff said the case marked "another reminder of the need for rigorous adherence to health and safety in the oil and gas industry."
The HSE also issued an improvement notice in the immediate aftermath of the incident, and work in confined spaces was halted until February 2021 while a full review of the incident was carried out.
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