Ithaca Energy fined for water ingress incident on North Sea platform elevator
Ithaca Energy (UK) has been fined £300,000 ($405,413) after admitting to safety failings onboard the FPF-1 semisubmersible platform, which is operating in the Greater Stella Area in the central UK North Sea.
The hearing at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in eastern Scotland followed an investigation by the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) of an incident that occurred on the facility on Dec. 10, 2020.
During a night shift, three crew members had been descending in a lift located in one of the platform legs. Water started to flood into the lift before they reached the bottom of the shaft, leaving them knee-deep in water.
By pressing the emergency button, they were able to return safely to the main deck, without sustaining injuries.
The trio had been tasked with inspection work at the base of one of the platform’s subsea columns. During preparations to clear the inspection site of standing water, the HSE found failings of hardware and incorrect operating procedures caused the bottom of the lift shaft to start filling with water.
Due to a lack of water alarms in the bottom of the lift shaft, the control room team was unaware that water was filling the shaft. As the three men descended in the lift, they experienced a "rush of air," with their suspicion of something being wrong confirmed when the base of the lift made contact with the water.
The HSE found that water marks on the lift door showed it had reached a level of just under 1.5 m (5 ft) before the lift was stopped and returned to surface.
Ithaca’s own investigation concluded that the water level might have reached more than 3 m (9.8 ft). In that case, the men would have had difficulty escaping through the top hatch if they 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 it had ordered a halt to work in confined spaces by the company until February 2021 for a full review to take place.
HSE Inspector Ian Chilley said, “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.”
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