8 MAR 2020
Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) is investigating an incident aboard the Floatel Endurance, which suffered an accidental gangway disconnection on February 29 while working alongside Equinor’s Martin Linge offshore platform. No one was injured in the accident.
“The PSA takes a serious view of what happened. An investigation team drawn from its specialist staff is now starting work,” the agency said in a statement.
PSA’s scrutiny will be directed both at Floatel International, which operates Floatel Endurance, and at Equinor as operator for Martin Linge. The cause of the incident is not currently known.
Equinor is opening its own investigation into the gangway disconnection, reports Stavanger Aftenblad.
Martin Linge is a new offshore platform built for the development of the NCS field of the same name. It runs on shore power delivered by an alternating-current electrical cable – the longest of its type, at 87 nautical miles between the onshore substation and the platform.
Equinor says that the hook-up and completion job at the field requires about 650 people at work at any one time. The Floatel Endurance provides the necessary extra accommodations capacity for construction staff.