US authorities are conducting an investigation into the fatality of a worker onboard a drillship operated by Brazilian oil and gas company Petrobras in the Gulf of Mexico, about 172 miles south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana.
The company reported that the fatality occurred onboard the Petrobras 10,000 drillship, owned by Transocean Ltd., at about 4:45 a.m., on 2 December 2017.
The deceased worked for Spencer Ogden Ltd. and was participating in pipe handling operations at the time of his injury. No other personnel were harmed and there was no pollution as a result of the incident.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Gulf of Mexico Region Director Lars Herbst has instituted a panel investigation and inspectors have begun conducting a thorough investigation into the cause of the fatality.
BSEE has also issued a safety alert regarding the incident, recommending that operators consider the following:
- Review this Safety Alert with your crew and discuss safe practices within designated hazardous areas and encourage feedback to keep offshore personnel out of potentially hazardous areas.
- Review and verify all potentially hazardous areas are clearly marked and employees are trained on accessing those zones throughout their normal operations.
- Review equipment layout and operational design to reduce the interaction and application of scientific knowledge about people, facilities and management systems to reduce the likelihood and/or consequences of human error.
The alert may be found herebelow:
