During my short time working out of Denes into the SNS, where night shuttles, with their additional inherent dangers are common, one the pilots there, a long serving and experienced hand as well as a senior training Captain, observed that "if the oil companies were really serious about safety, they'd stop night shuttling!"
The reality is that if the oil companies were really serious about safety, they would be doing the research on this (higher level floats) and anything else that warranted it to further reduce the dangers of offshore travel themselves and implementing their findings without waiting for the regulators to impose it upon them.
Instead, costs are cut to the bone in the interests of maintaining profits (and, by extension, investor dividend) and, where the regulatory imperative to do so is weak or non-existent, the interest in change simply isn't there. It's very hard not to have the feeling that a certain amount of loss of life, like "collateral damage" can be tolerated.
Union officials who are quick to criticise perceived shortcomings in the existing levels and quality of service might more profitably (for the welfare of their members) address their concerns to those who pay for the service and who, ultimately by the amount they spend on it, control the quality of that service.
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