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Daily Mirror
9 hours ago
- General
- Daily Mirror
'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.
The National
15 hours ago
- General
- The National
Scottish oil and gas firm fined £300,000 after 'terrifying incident'
The episode happened on the FPF-1 offshore platform, owned by Aberdeen-based 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. READ MORE: SNP to consider banning football fans caught using flares at games 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.' READ MORE: Search concludes after man goes overboard from Clyde ferry 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. An Ithaca Energy spokesperson said: "Ithaca Energy takes its responsibilities in relation to the health, safety and welfare of its employees and contractors extremely seriously, and takes considerable pride in its excellent safety record. "The company has treated the matter with the utmost seriousness and accepts its responsibility for the failings that led to the incident, where thankfully no individual was harmed. "A thorough internal investigation was launched immediately, and the Company has worked closely with the HSEx to implement and comply with the recommendations of their findings."
Daily Record
15 hours ago
- General
- Daily Record
North Sea firm fined £300k after workers descended into water-filled lift in 'terrifying' incident
The horrifying incident happened on a floating platform in the North Sea during a night shift. An oil and gas operator has been fined £300,000 after three crew members descended into a water-filled lift shaft. The horrifying incident happened on a floating platform in the North Sea during a night shift on December 10, 2020. It caused the workers - who had been descending in a lift located in one of the platform legs on the FPF-1 facility - to become partially submerged. The water started to flood into the lift before they reached the bottom of the shaft, with the trio knee-deep in water by the time the lift was able to be stopped via the emergency button. On Thursday, June 12, Ithaca Energy (UK) Limited - the owner of FPF-1 - pled guilty to safety failings at a hearing at Aberdeen Sheriff Court. As reported by Aberdeen Live, an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the three men had been tasked with carrying out inspection work at the base of one of the facility's sub-sea columns. During preparations to clear the inspection site of standing water beforehand, the bottom of the lift shaft began to fill with water due to failings of hardware and incorrect operating procedures. A lack of water alarms in the bottom of the lift shaft meant the control room was unaware that water was filling the shaft. As the three men descended in the lift, they experienced a 'rush of air' before their fears of something being wrong were confirmed when the base of the lift made contact with the water. The three men were able to press an emergency stop button and returned safely to the main deck, with none of them sustaining any injuries. The investigation found that water marks on the lift door revealed it had reached a level of just under 1.5 metres before the lift was stopped and returned to surface. Ithaca's own investigation determined that the water level could have actually reached more than three metres. This meant the men would have found it difficult to escape through the top hatch of the lift if the workers had used the lift later and/or had not been successful in bringing the lift to a halt immediately. HSE issued Ithaca with an improvement notice and work in confined spaces was stopped by the company until February 2021 to allow a full review to take place. 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. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. '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.' When passing sentence, the sheriff observed the case marked "another reminder of the need for rigorous adherence to health and safety in the oil and gas industry".
The Herald Scotland
16 hours ago
- General
- The Herald Scotland
Ithaca Energy hit with £300,000 fine after safety breach
The three men had been tasked with carrying out inspection work at the base of one of the facility's sub-sea columns, but during preparation failings of hardware and incorrect operating procedures caused the bottom of the lift shaft to commence filling with water. A lack of water alarms at the bottom of the shaft meant the control room was unaware of the situation, and the trio began to descend on the lift. Read More: They experienced 'a rush of air' before the bottom of the lift made contact with the water. The men were up to their knees before managing to press the emergency stop button, with no injuries sustained. The HSE investigation found that water marks on the lift door revealed it had reached a level of just under 1.5 metres before the lift was stopped and returned to surface. Ithaca's own investigation determined that the water level could have actually reached more than three metres, meaning the men would have found it difficult to escape through the top hatch of the lift if the workers had used the lift later and/or had not been successful in bringing the lift to a halt immediately. HSE issued Ithaca with an improvement notice and work in confined spaces was stopped by the company until February 2021 to allow a full review to take place. Ithaca Energy (UK) Limited of Queens Road, Aberdeen pleaded guilty to breaching The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, 30 Regulation 4(1) and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Section 33(1)(a). The company was fined £300,000. 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.' "When passing sentence, the sheriff observed the case marked 'another reminder of the need for rigorous adherence to health and safety in the oil and gas industry'." A spokesperson for Ithaca Energy said: "Ithaca Energy takes its responsibilities in relation to the health, safety and welfare of its employees and contractors extremely seriously, and takes considerable pride in its excellent safety record. "The company has treated the matter with the utmost seriousness and accepts its responsibility for the failings that led to the incident, where thankfully no individual was harmed. A thorough internal investigation was launched immediately, and the company has worked closely with the HSEx to implement and comply with the recommendations of their findings."
