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LONDON — New offshore safety statistics have suggested that working in the industry is becoming safer.

The figures revealed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on Wednesday show that the combined fatal and major injury rate and major hydrocarbon releases are at their lowest level since regulation of the industry began more than 20 years ago.

Chair of the Health and Safety Commission Judith Hackitt said: “The improvements in major and fatal accident rates are encouraging but the industry must not take its eye of the ball. Investment in safety must continue despite the current economic climate putting a squeeze on resources.

“Although we were pleased to see no fatalities occurring in offshore operations for a second consecutive year, this good news was of course overshadowed by the tragic events of April 1 when the Super Puma helicopter crashed with the loss of 16 passengers. The same day, in a separate incident, a worker received fatal injuries aboard a dive support vessel in transit.

“Even though HSE’s remit does not extend to air and marine transport activities, these incidents show that hazards are ever present offshore. The loss of 17 offshore workers this year is a tragedy and stark reminder to us all.

“The KP3 review, published just last month, shows that progress is being made in improving safety in the industry and HSE inspectors will continue to adopt a tough approach to poor performers to help preserve and improve the industry’s safety performance as a whole.”

30 major injuries were reported by those working offshore in the past year, a drop of 14 compared with 2007/08 figures. The combined fatal and major injury rate reduced to 106 per 100,000 workers in 2008/09 compared with 156 in 2007/08 and 146 in 2006/07.

The number of major and significant hydrocarbon releases, regarded as potential precursors to an incident, also showed marked improvement with 61 in last year compared with 74 in 2007/08.

Ian Whewell, Head of HSE’s Offshore Division, said: “Although I welcome the reduction in major and significant hydrocarbon releases the challenge is to secure sustained improvement. Carrying forward last year’s success will require continued industry focus on integrity management, safe systems of work, supervision, risk assessment and competence.

“Worryingly, early indicators for 2009/10 suggest last year’s improved performance is currently not being delivered.

“Renewed effort is also essential to reduce the number of minor injuries which have only been showing a slow rate of decline. A focus on training, together with identification and management of hazards and risks are key factors for preventing incidents.”

news.stv.tv

SEATTTLE — A diver was critically injured Monday after having a problem underwater along the Seattle waterfront.

Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Dana Vander Houwen said the man was with a diving school group in the water at the Bell Street Marina and experienced some sort of problem while wearing a diving helmet.

Other people in the class called 911 and the man was pulled to shore unconscious after being underwater for about five minutes.

Medics performed CPR for about 20 minutes outside the marina at 2201 Alaskan Way and then rushed the man to Harborview Medical Center where he was in critical condition, Vander Houwen said.

The man was diving in about 40 feet of water, but it was not known what went wrong.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/44305052.html

HALIFAX, NS — There have been 25 occurrence reports filed with Transport Canada since Jan. 1, 2006, involving the Sikorsky S-92A model helicopter that crashed in the North Atlantic last Thursday.

All of the occurrences happened on board choppers owned by Cougar Helicopters during journeys to Newfoundland’s offshore oil platforms.

Seventeen people died in last Thursday’s crash of Cougar Helicopters flight 491, when the Sikorsky S-92A ditched in the Atlantic Ocean after declaring a mechanical problem. Read the rest of this entry »

SAFETY ALERT NO. 207:  BROKEN DECK WINCH FOOTINGS

Country: null

Location: —

Release Date: —

Time incident occurred: —

Type of Activity: Lifting, crane, rigging, deck operations

Type of Injury: Struck by

Function: null

Applicabale Filter Categories: Struck by,Structural failure (offshore),System/Equipment failure

A vessel had been fitted with two deck winches to assist in diver operations. Both had been subjected to 3rd party load and 3rd party NDT testing on the sea-fastenings just a few days prior to the incident.

While one of the winches was being used to help orientate a load that was being swung out over the side of the vessel, it came off its footings and the short length of flexible air hose connecting it to the LP air ring-main parted, catching the winch operator under the arm and lacerating it severely.

The winch operator very calmly collected burning gear, which had been laid out ready to hand in case of need, and severed the winch wire to prevent the winch going overboard. He then was told to go to the sick-bay for treatment by a deck colleague who came to assist, and was subsequently medivaced to the beach for hospital treatment. Read the rest of this entry »

Survival rates for people in Canadian helicopters that have crashed into water over the past three decades are the same as those around the world, a report published last year determined.

There were 46 civilian helicopters registered in this country that ditched in water from 1979 to 2006, resulting in 27 deaths among the 124 passengers and crew, according to an article published in the October issue of Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine. Read the rest of this entry »

Seamar, the well known provider of subsea construction and fabrication services to the domestic and international oil and gas industry operating in the Gulf of Mexico and some Latin American markets, has announced that the company’s 2008 year-end total recordable incident rate, or TRIR, of 0.8.

After posting a fourth quarter TRIR of 0.0, Seamar’s cumulative TRIR for the year 2008 averaged to an outstanding 0.8, or 60 per cent below the industry standard of 2.0. Read the rest of this entry »

Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.
CFR Part: “46 CFR Part 197″
RIN Number: “RIN 1625-AA21″
Citation: “74 FR 414″
Document Number: “USCG-1998-3786″
Federal Register Page Number: “414″

Read the rest of this entry »

There’s no question, safety is the #1 issue in diving.  This is why we’ve dedicated a section of our site to it.  We’ll do our best to keep you up to date on any new regulations, bulletins, tips and even stories about safety in the Commercial Diving world.

If you have anything to add, please let us know by contacting us or by posting items in the cDiver Forums.  We watch everything in our forums as it happens and will be sure to mention important forum posts here in the main safety section.

Safe diving.