Oil Workers Stranded Offshore After Super Puma Grounding Forced to Take 13 Hour Boat Trip
Oil and gas workers have been left stranded on a rig off Western Australia’s north west coast after a fleet of helicopters was grounded in the wake of last month’s Norway crash.
Commercial flights of the EC225LP Super Puma helicopter were suspended worldwide by Airbus after the accident near the Norwegian city of Bergen killed 13 people on April 29.
Two of the helicopters, also known as the H225, are normally used to transfer workers from the Ocean Monarch drilling rig back to the mainland in the Pilbara.
The company which transports the offshore workers, CHC Helicopters, said it was using smaller aircraft to try to clear the backlog.
However a spokeswoman said the new aircraft could only take between three and five people at a time, resulting in minor delays getting workers home.
Oil and Gas Peple understands some employees have been waiting up to five days for alternative transport.
It is also believed some stranded workers may have been transferred to the mainland by boat – a trip which takes about 13 hours.
The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority said it was aware of the matter and was currently making inquiries with the operator of the Ocean Monarch.
