Evacuated North Sea oil workers flown home
● Enquest’s Thistle platform remains shut down for inspections
More than 100 workers evacuated from a North Sea oil platform in an emergency operation involving British and Norwegian helicopters are being flown home, the oil company owners confirmed last night.
A total of 115 personnel were flown off Enquest’s Thistle platform, about 125 miles (201km) north-east of Shetland, in what was described as a precaution on Monday evening.
The platform is to remain closed down until further inspections are carried out and any remedial action needed is completed.
The workers were transferred to the nearby Dunlin Alpha platform by a coastguard helicopter and two from the Norwegian offshore sector.
The company said it ordered the evacuation after a subsea structural inspection.
Jake Molloy, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers’ union, said this suggested “quite a significant event”.
Earlier he said “for structural integrity reasons this is only the second time I can remember [shutting down a platform] in 40 years. The last one was Ninian South pending the Beast from the East arriving.” A spokeswoman for Enquest, a UK company, said: “Enquest can confirm that the 115 people, who were transferred from the Thistle platform to the nearby Dunlin installation yesterday as a precautionary measure, are safe and well and are in the process of being flown onshore. The decision was taken to pro-actively down-man the platform and shut down production following an inspection relating to a support element on a redundant subsea storage tank.” Bob Davenport, managing director, North Sea of Enquest, said: “The safety of our people is our absolute priority.
“Our offshore installation manager took pro-active action to transfer everyone from the platform as a precaution following yesterday’s inspection.
“This was carried out safely and quickly, with plans then made for their onward travel home.
“Further inspection work will be conducted and the platform will remain shut down until that has concluded and any necessary remedial action undertaken.
“I’d like to thank everyone involved for their support including the team onboard Dunlin, employees, contractors and the Maritime Coastguard Agency.”
Mr Molloy said he understood the evacuated men would still get paid.
The Health and Safety Executive said: “HSE is aware of the evacuation of the Enquest platform and is making further inquiries.”