Some good points HB, and it is excellent to get some view point from the other side of the fence. In response, I'd say, I don't think there is any need to ban night flying, but I would be of the opinion that night deck operations are not safe enough to be justifiable. Whether it be anecdotal, or statistical, landing and to a lesser extent taking-off offshore at night is probably the most dangerous thing we do and has resulted in the greatest number of accidents.
Could I ever see a situation where the oil companies felt that the risks outweighed the value ?? I'm not sure - I certainly don't see why not. I don't think the oil companies get that much value out of night flights, and I think if there was availability of aircraft, they would rather get their crew changes done by mid-afternoon - That was certainly the way it used to work. Unfortunately this then leaves the helicopter operators with a hangar full of aircraft that are being paid off, and insurance costs, just sitting there not earning. I don't think it would change operations significantly to adjust flights for the peak winter months to cover routine crew changes - Shuttles and offshore works programs that typically crew 6am - 6pm - 6am, might be more of an issue.
I think a general ban on offshore night flying (deck ops) might actually be good for crewing levels. We would still need to accomplish these same flights, but would need a 3 or 4 more airframes on the North Sea and the crews to fly them. or just a few extra flights at the weekend. Yes, this will cost money, but against the backdrop of the budgets involved and the investment in safety generally, it isn't a ridiculous suggestion.
Where would I draw the line ? Well, I think we have honed the rules of aviation fantastically over the life of the North Sea, and I think they are generally pitched pretty well. I don't share your opinion regarding IMC approaches to minima although I accept that they can be exciting !! Even going around at 200ft in less than 1km viz, you tend to be able to see the surface, have a well trimmed aircraft and the pilot flying goes from an IFR approach into an IFR go-around. There has not been an accident in this area to my knowledge and I've never felt a high risk factor. I think it is the nature of semi-IFR / VFR flying at night and the changeover between the two that probably accounts for the accident rate.
Where to go from here ??? Yes I have brought up my doubts on a number of occasions but generally fallen on deaf ears. I fear I may not be talking loud enough !! I certainly doubt that the oil companies have ever been consulted and I'm pretty sure they call up 7 stop night shuttles much as they would by day with little consideration as to the added risk - Why should they unless they had been educated so ??
I think the investment in new aircraft should really improve things particularly with the S-92 and EC225. Not sure the S-76C is really going to help too much but at least the power is there even if the view is not significantly improved !!
Is there some compromise - From my opinion, I'm not sure there is. Are things improving ? - Yes. But will they ever be safe enough ?? I don't think so. Not unless I can guarantee to my passengers that subject to no 'extraordinary' event, I can get them to work and home safe. Flying into the water in the dark isn't extraordinary, it would appear to be a statistical happening based simply on the amount of night flying conducted, and whilst based purely on opinion (and some fact) I can't see procedure, training or technology changing that.