The production pipe landed on an access stairway in an area underneath, coming to rest vertically through the stairway. The production pipe weighted 572 kg and represented kinetic energy of 80242 Joule.
The direct cause of the incident was the use of a pipe-handling crane, with a spreader fitted, to lift an open basket. The pipe-handling crane's overload alarm was triggered and the crane operator immediately lowered the basket, so that it hit two 7-inch production pipes, causing one of them to be lifted up, to swing over the railing and fall into the access stairway.The PSA decided to undertake an investigation of the incident.
The investigation identified serious breaches of the regulations. On this basis, the PSA issued Statoil the following order:
Pursuant to the Framework Regulations, section 69 concerning administrative decisions, with reference to the Management Regulations, section 6 concerning the management of health, safety and the environment, and section 21 concerning follow-up, Statoil is ordered to:
- Review the process for plant integrity and proficiency certification in order to ensure that lifting equipment is suitable for and safe to use.
- Ensure that the certification company that verifies Statoil's proficiency has sufficient expertise to detect faults and deficiencies in lifting equipment.
The deadline for complying with the order is set at 1 April 2014.