BSEE, USCG issue alert after dynamic positioning incident

Offshore staff

WASHINGTON, D.C. –The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the US Coast Guard have issued a Joint Safety Alert addressing a dynamic positioning incident involving an offshore supply vessel (OSV) which resulted in a loss of position during OCS activity.

The OSV was attached to a wellhead, lost position, and severed the wellhead tree causing a lubricant release on the platform deck and to the environment. Immediately prior to the position loss, the OSV had multiple DP system alarms and failures, including loss of bow thruster and engine control.

Greater consequences were averted because a subsurface safety valve was activated to preclude hydrocarbon flow from the well.

The Coast Guard and the BSEE issued this Joint Safety Alert because they share jurisdiction on the OCS and wanted to highlight the importance of an OSV’s Safety Management System and a leaseholder’sSafety and Environmental Management System.

02/26/2015