Stand-By Rescue Ships - Their Roles and the Factors Involved in Performing Them

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper is based on a study, led by the author, which was completed in 1981 for the UK Department of Energy and which led to the publication of Draft Guidance Notes for the operation of Rescue Ships in the UK Sector of the North Sea. The paper examines the requirements for independent rescue facilities for offshore installations and concludes that such facilities are needed. It goes on to discuss the requirements of such vessels in material and personnel terms. In particular it considers the relevant topics of vessel design, pick-up boat design, propulsion and launching systems, medical capabilities, communications and personnel selection and training Its conclusions highlight the main features of the Draft Guidance Notes for Rescue Ship Operations. INTRODUCTION Stand-by Vessels have been required by law to be stationed in the vicinity of offshore installations in the North Sea for several years. They were first introduced in the UK Sector after the loss of the drilling rig Sea Gem in December 1965 when 13 people died. British law demands that a vessel shall be present within 5 nautical miles of every offshore installation when it is manned, ready to give assistance in the event of an emergency on or near-the installation. The vessel is required to be capable of accommodating and providing first aid to all persons who may be on the installation at any time and to have primary and secondary means of communication with the installation. More detailed requirements for the vessels are issued by the UK Department of Trade. The Department?s Surveyors are required to have issued a Certificate of Survey for each vessel before United Kingdom Offshore Operators Association members will employ it as a Stand-by Vessel in the UK Sector. Similar arrangements exist in other North Sea Sectors. Thus it is that all operators of offshore rigs and platforms in the North Sea have employed certified vessels to stand by within 5 nautical miles of their installations at all times. Perhaps because these vessels have sometimes been chartered more to fulfill the requirements of the law than because of any conviction that they are needed for a practical purpose, they have tended to be of a standard sufficient to obtain a Certificate of Survey but no more. It can, and has been, argued that this standard is insufficient for the role they are there to fulfill, but before this can be examined, it must be clearly established that a genuine role exists. If it does, the capabilities of vessels needed to perform it can then be assessed. The study upon which this paper is based set out to do this. CONDUCT OF STUDY The study took the form of some fifty so discussions with a very wide variety of companies and organizations connected with Stand-by Vessels and visits to Stand-by Vessels operating offshore. The people performing the study, and subsequently drafting the guidelines had considerable marine and offshore industry management experience but had no vested interest in the outcome of the study.