North Sea oil rig worker quarantined over coronavirus fear

An offshore worker on a North Sea platform has been quarantined over concerns around the outbreak of the coronavirus.

The worker, on board Taqa’s Tern Alpha installation 105 miles northeast of Shetland, has presented “minor symptoms after returning recently from holiday in Thailand”.

Taqa said the individual is being “attended to by the medic on board” and is “remaining separated from the crew until the results of the tests are known”.

A helicopter crew change was due to arrive at the Tern yesterday but it is understood that was diverted at the discretion of the helicopter operator.

Quarantine is a standard procedure on Taqa installations for outbreaks of viral ilnesses like flu.

A spokeswoman added that Taqa has now put travel restrictions in place to its offshore platforms by workers who have returned to countries hit by the virus, joining fellow operator Chrysaor who has also imposed similar restrictions.

In an email seen by the P&J, Chrysaor said workers returning from China’s Hubei Province cannot go offshore for 14 days and should go into self-imposed quarantine.

The operator also placed similar restrictions on anyone experiencing a cough or fever that has recently returned from Far East countries including China, Thailand, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Malaysia.

Chrysaor said it was taking “prudent” steps to reduce the risk to its people and offshore installations.

Other firms, including BP and Halliburton, have issued company-wide policies preventing non-essential travel to China and the wider Asia-pacific region respectively.

Oil services company Schlumberger has also put travel restrictions in place.

In the email, Chrysaor said it was following guidance from Oil and Gas UK (OGUK), as well as health protection bodies in Scotland and England following the outbreak.

Meanwhile fellow operator Shell said it was “monitoring the situation closely and following the guidance provided by the UK authorities”.