Total have made plans to down man 40 personnel from the platform after the current shutdown, 30 of those being down manned are day trippers ‘day with 10 being personnel on rotation.

The move comes after an HSE visit to the Elgin Franklin earlier this month found that the platforms lifeboats were inadequate for the safe evacuation of all personnel from the platform as the company had not brought it’s life boats in line with industry standards and HSE guidance.

The HSE previously highlighted in a Guidance Note in 2008 titled “Big Persons in Lifeboats” that offshore workers weighed significantly more than the average weight (75kg) used by marine manufacturers to design the life crafts and launch equipment. The HSE advised that: “Duty Holders…need to take adequate account of the current average weight and size of persons when determining the suitability of the lifeboat provided on offshore installations”.

The information resulted in offshore companies all over the world upsizing their evacuation systems and ordering extra lifeboats for their production platforms, drilling rigs and supply ships as lifeboats that were meant for 90 people, were only suitable for 67 offshore workers.

The reason stems from the pre 2010 SOLAS figure of an average passenger weight of 75kg (now revised to 82.5kg), a weight that factors in woman and children who are typically present in most large vessels. However in the offshore industry there are of course no children and only a small percentage of females resulting in an average weight according to the CAA and HSE of 98kg. This figure means that a lifeboat and launch system designed for 100 passengers would weigh 2300kg more than intended. This extra weight puts many lifeboats over their design capabilities.

The Elgin Franklin with its revised lifeboat capacity has had to take the step to reduce personnel in line with maximum lifeboat capacity as a temporary method of compliance with standards. However the long term solution is not known with one offshore worker saying “these lifeboats aren’t sitting in a yard waiting for a buyer, they are made to order and it could take months before new lifeboats are available to the platform”.

Total have been the subject of harsh criticism on this matter as most oil companies took immediate steps to rectify this situation shortly after the revised expectations in 2008. A Total employee who asked to remain anonymous stated: “Total were aware of this issue as was the rest of the industry, they chose not to act and in doing so jeopardised the lives of their employees”.

The decision to down man the installation comes just days after an HSE Inspector performed audits on Total platforms and raised two improvement notices against the Elgin platform and one against the Dunbar platform. All three improvement notices are currently within the 21 day appeal period but Oil and Gas People will release more information soon.

Total has been contacted for comment and this article will be updated should they respond.

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