Standby Vessel Rescue of Personnel from Offshore Platforms

Contents

Introduction
Study Approach
Risk Analysis
Performance Standards
Discussions with Workforce
Implementation
Conclusions

Introduction

In 1994, a producer of natural gas in the North Sea was operating two manned installations linked to seventeen not normally manned installations, several subsea well sites and a number of drilling sites.

We helped develop new arrangements for the rescue of offshore personnel who might find themselves in the sea as a result of a helicopter crash, or of falling overboard, or as a result of making an escape to the sea following a platform emergency.

The primary means of rescue of offshore personnel from the sea is often a standby vessel, which is a vessel that attends on permanently or temporarily manned installations. By historical convention, standby vessels in the UK may be stationed up to 5 nautical miles away from the installation they are protecting.

Standby vessels also keep a radar watch for passing ships that might be on a collision course for the protected installation.

The study had two purposes - to improve the survival prospects for personnel in the water and to reduce the cost of the standby vessel operations. These objectives might seem contradictory at first glance but this paper will show how both were achieved.

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