BP Jigsaw SAR to be axed

[shetlander]

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8542/8785813408_62b2e91363_z_d.jpg


Offshore rescue helicopters to be axed

OIL workers spoke of their concern at news a frontline emergency team serving the offshore industry is to be scrapped.

BP has confirmed two Jigsaw search-and-rescue choppers will be axed by 2016, with the first to go next year.

Jigsaw crews – which include a qualified medic – have taken part in hundreds of missions.

The contract with Bond Helicopters to operate the aircraft will not be renewed.

One oil worker said there were concerns over the loss of Jigsaw.

He said: “The industry constantly goes on about how there is no price put on safety and these Bond search-and-rescue helicopters and their crews have already saved countless lives.”

But industry body Oil and Gas UK said it was working on new plans for search and rescue (SAR) cover in the central North Sea.

However, Jake Molloy, regional organiser of the RMT union, said urgent talks were needed to ensure workers had adequate search-and-rescue back-up.

He said: “All parties need to get round the table to ensure that we maintain appropriate levels of search-and-rescue cover for workers.



Offshore rescue helicopters to be axed - Local / News / Evening Express (http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/news/local/offshore-rescue-helicopters-to-be-axed-1.627063)

[jimf671]

I am not yet sure that this is something that should be taken at face value. Some other format may yet replace it.

What should be clear is that the world has changed since 2004. The 61s have gone and Sea Kings are due to go at Lossiemouth and Sola. Fast and well-equipped SAR aircraft are at Sumburgh and soon at Inverness and Sola.

Lots of S92 and EC225 have entered crew change service.

[[email protected]]

But the idea that 20 people could be winched out of the water in 30 mins by one helicopter was an obfuscation of the highest order anyway:ugh:

ISTR the concept was 'proved' by winching a neat line of dummies in single strops in a relatively benign sea state - completely unrepresentative of the real world but someone in management/govt bought it!

[jimf671]

You remind me of the Norwegians and their Merlins. Their Government apparently believes they will need a big helicopter to rescue 20 or 25 people at a time. I have yet to meet any drysuit wearers who think that is really how it happens.

[Woolf]

Crab, I think if you are not well informed you should maybe hold back on your sweeping statements ;)!

If my information is correct (and I think it is!) then there is no and never was a 30 minute target, where did you get that information from? For BP the target I believe is 2h to a place of safety (and the calculation includes transit times). If you asked some of the offshore workers there actually have been quite a number of elaborate exercises to prove this included all sea states up to and including 6. The UK HSE have been quite insistent on this... People are not as stupid as you make them out to be, even if they are working for the government :p

Jim: You are of course correct however the loss here is that there will no longer be an offshore based aircraft. No matter how new and fast the aircraft in Sumburgh, Sola and possibly Aberdeen are, that advantage is lost.

[jimf671]

... No matter how new and fast the aircraft in Sumburgh, Sola and possibly Aberdeen are, that advantage is lost.



At this stage, I cannot say I am convinced that no industry funded LIMSAR will exist beyond 2016, only that it will not exist based on the current model.

[[email protected]]

Crab, I think if you are not well informed you should maybe hold back on your sweeping statements perhaps you could try talking to those who did the tests:ok:

[norunway]

Contract requirement was to remove 21 people from the water in 30mins and then have them transported to a place of safety,so Woolf I suggest you check your facts as they are wrong.

[gasax]

I carried out some assessment work on Jigsaw when it was being touted to other operators. The requirement was 2 hours for recovery and return of a full crew and passengers to a place of safety - the legal requirement under PFEER. That limited the sphere of operations due to transit and recovery times.

The contract with the helicopter might well have had that recovery time in it and the remaining time after response and transit is at least partially what drove the requirement for all Jigsaw related passengers to carry PLBs. Remember when Jigsaw commenced, that was not a UKCS industry requirement.

[TiPwEiGhT]

There is still SAR coverage in the Norwegian sector which cover some of the UK side. EC225 at Ekofisk, Statfjord and Heidrun. The only trouble may be in certain wind conditions that there is no coverage for Sleipner, the Merlins might manage it out of Sola, I am not sure.

TiP

[Bravo73]

Jigsaw is indeed to be 'axed'.


To be replaced by a Central NS O&G SAR service. Using the Jigsaw aircraft!



http://www.bondoffshorehelicopters.com/news-landing.aspx?code=190&name=Oil+and+gas+industry+commits+to+fund+a+%C2%A360M+search +and+rescue+helicopter+service+to+maintain+safety+standards

Oil and gas industry commits to fund a £60M search and rescue helicopter service to maintain safety standards

North Sea oil and gas operators have committed to fund a search and rescue (SAR) helicopter service, supplementing national SAR cover for parts of the Central North Sea.

The service will be operated by Bond Offshore Helicopters and will ensure existing rescue and recovery standards are maintained.

The launch of a new UK-wide search and rescue service by the Department for Transport next month coincides with decommissioning plans for BP Miller platform, where the Jigsaw helicopter has been based, and which has provided additional rescue and response cover to the Central North Sea on a good will basis.

Malcolm Webb, chief executive of Oil & Gas UK, said: “Jigsaw has been an excellent service that has benefited many in the Central North Sea over the years. However the removal of the Miller platform means that service was not sustainable.

“Furthermore changes to national SAR provision mean that the two-hour time set down by industry for rescue and recovery cannot be guaranteed in certain parts of the Central North Sea. Accordingly, the operators of various fields in the Central North Sea worked together and with Oil & Gas UK to find a solution. This industry-funded search and rescue helicopter service will maintain the rescue and recovery capability we demand for our offshore workforce.”

The participating companies have awarded Bond Offshore Helicopters a £60 million contract over five years to deliver the service which will operate out of Aberdeen and provide rescue and recovery and medevac cover for offshore workers in the Central North Sea.

Robert Paterson, health, safety and employment issues director at Oil & Gas UK, said: “Industry has worked collaboratively to deliver this new search and rescue service that will ensure we can respond when required and within the two-hour criteria set by our industry. This fine example of industry collaboration underlines the fact that, at all times, the safety of the workforce is our top priority.”

Steve Griffiths, managing director, Bond Offshore Helicopters, added: “Our search and rescue teams have been providing a life-saving service with specialist helicopters for almost a decade. Today’s announcement ensures the men and women working offshore in the Central North Sea will continue to receive world-class search and rescue support.”

The industry-funded SAR helicopter and the dedicated back-up aircraft will be based at Bond Offshore Helicopters HQ at Aberdeen International Airport and cover a radius of around 160 nautical miles in the Central North Sea.

[jimf671]

Any idea of the technical spec and the regulatory regime for this?

[Bravo73]

Any idea of the technical spec and the regulatory regime for this?

Nope. I imagine that the cover will be similar to the current Jigsaw cover.

If you want more details, maybe you can contact Bond directly. There are contact details at the bottom of the linked article.

[Offshore pilot]

Norway offshore based AWSAR helicopters bases:

Ekofisk: 2 EC 225
Oseberg: 1 EC 225
Statfjord: 1 EC 225
Heidrun: 1 AS 332

In addition 1 EC 225 is based in Hammerfest and 1 EC 225 will be based in Stavanger shortly

The goverment funded Sea Kings based:

Rygge, Sola, Floro, Orland, Bodo and Banak

Seems like the offshore sector in Norway is well covered with oil related SAR coverage. Due to mutual agreement these resources may in critical situations be used in UK sector if requested by UK RCC via official channels.

[HeliComparator]

I note a nice big colour picture of a jigsaw L2 captioned "A Bond Jigsaw rescue helicopter" in today's P&J. The problem? It's registration is G-JSAR. Hmmm, where do they get their reporters from!

(Clue: it's a Bristow aircraft, and one long since dead.)

[TiPwEiGhT]

Offshore Pilot,

Do you know who will operate the Stavanger EC225 and who for?

TiP

[Offshore pilot]

CHC will operate the aircraft for Statoil

Offshore pilot