During the winter period between December-February, this increases to between 51-65%. If the certification requirement was raised to Sea State 6, the risk of exceedence would fall to a maximum of approximately 3% over the whole year and 3-7% in the winter months.”
Winter is the time of the year when SAR issues grow....short days, cold air, rough seas, hypothermia, cold shock.
Perhaps there is merit to requiring Sea State 6 flotation systems. It will still come down to a determination of cost/benefit....which unfortunately has to be measured in human lives at some point.
If we use the logic of some....comparing the offshore helicopter industry to the World's Airline industry....should we not first agree we should have the same reliability numbers that the Airlines maintain?
When we do....have the same reliability, fully instrumented approaches, lead in lighting, radar surveillance, stable landing areas....and all the rest....then perhaps that is a fair comparison....but not until then.
Even then....would we revert to wearing our normal casual attire to/from the rigs and platforms?