New safety rules for helicopters in North Sea

REGULATORS have proposed strict new safety rules for helicopters flying to unmanned oil and gas platforms in the North Sea, it was revealed yesterday.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) wants to tighten-up procedures for trips to the 116 installations which are normally unattended offshore.

Newly-announced plans would mean that helicopters would only be able to go to such platforms if they have full capability to fly safely on one engine following loss of power of its other engine.

They would also be equipped with fully crash-worthy systems to reduce the risk of fire, while changes would be made to helidecks, such as the fitting of automatic fire fighting systems.

The changes – which are to be taken forward on a “very short timescale” – follow new safety procedures introduced in the wake of a series of North Sea helicopter crashes in recent years.

They are primarily aimed at preventing an accident or incident.

Mark Swan, CAA safety director, yesterday: “The safety of the offshore flying has increased considerably over the past year.

“One area we want to focus on specifically is flights to unattended installations which, because there may be no-one on the rig to assist following an accident, don’t have the same level of safety as manned rigs.

“We will therefore progress this work as a priority to ensure offshore workers flying to these installations have the highest levels of safety possible. We believe the initial proposals are both proportionate and achievable and will address the risk.”

A spokesman for the pilots’ union Balpa welcomed the plans.

He said: “Balpa supports the CAA safety recommendations for unattended installations in the North Sea. In particular, the CAA has been trying for some time to mandate automatic firefighting systems on unattended installations. We hope that now happens, and happens quickly.”