Firm fined £130,000 after North Sea crane collapse

An offshore drilling contractor has been fined £130,000 after North Sea workers were put at risk when a crane collapsed.

Rowan Drilling UK Ltd admitted health and safety failings after the incident on the Rowan Gorilla VII installation in 2016.

Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard there was a "catastrophic" collapse of the machinery, but that no-one was hurt.

Imposing the fine, Sheriff Morag McLaughlin said a number of people had been put at risk.

Fiscal depute Stella Swan said the incident happened on 31 March 2016 when the rig was in the Central North Sea.

The crane operator was trying to deal with twisted cables, and when the boom of the crane was raised beyond its limits it collapsed.

Some sections fell into the sea, and the tip of the boom dragged a hose - which was pumping cement powder from a supply vessel alongside - under the water.

The hose ruptured, whipping back onto the deck of the supply vessel, and a cement cloud which engulfed it only cleared when the supply was stopped.

The fiscal depute said it was a catastrophic collapse, with several workers nearby, but added: "Thankfully there was no injury or loss of life."

Lifeboats on the installation were also damaged.

She said the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) determined that work had not been suitably risk assessed.

Defence counsel Peter Gray KC said the company had no previous convictions and took pride in its safety record.

"It's a matter of the greatest concern and regret that the lives of a number of employees and contractors were placed at risk as a result of failings," he said.

Lifeboats were damaged during the collapse

Mr Gray described the failures as not deliberate, but instead due to a lack of communication, and that lessons were learned and action taken.

The defence counsel said the company later ceased trading, but had made provision to pay a financial penalty.

Sheriff McLaughlin said there was mitigation in that the company had acted quickly afterwards, and that it had also taken a significant time to bring the case to court.

She said that combined with the guilty plea, she was able to reduce any fine to £130,000.

HSE inspector Brian Kennedy said after the case: “It was pure luck that nobody was seriously hurt or died as a result of these failings."