VESSEL OWNERS AND MASTER FINED £58,000 AFTER COLLISION

HSE press release E163:03 - 20 August 2003

NB: Update 13 May 2004 - On 22 April 2004 the Court of Appeal heard an appeal brought by Armana Limited and reduced the fine imposed on them from £40,000 to £15,000.

The owners and master of a factory fishing vessel were fined a total of £58,000 at Hull Crown Court yesterday (19 August) following an incident in which the vessel entered the safety zone around an offshore gas installation and collided with it.

The prosecution was brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following a joint investigation with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency into the incident on 8 May 2002 when the 2880 tonne ice-strengthened factory fishing vessel Marbella entered the 500m safety zone around the Rough 47/3B installation without permission and collided with the southwest leg of the accommodation platform.

The installation's 128 personnel were unaware of the impending collision and their first warning was the sound of the Marbella hitting the accommodation platform and the movement caused by the impact. No one was injured on either the installation or the Marbella.

After the collision, all installation personnel were mustered onto the middle process platform, one of three bridge-linked platforms. The installation manager decided to undertake a precautionary evacuation of 109 non-essential personnel, because the accommodation platform and helideck were deemed to be unsafe, until a full structural damage assessment was undertaken.

The evacuation was undertaken with assistance from coastguard helicopters and a nearby tanker, Navion Europa, equipped with helideck facilities. The Humber and Bridlington lifeboats were also in attendance, together with the fishing vessel Challenger. Nineteen essential personnel remained on the installation. The Marbella was escorted back to Hull dock by the Humber lifeboat.

Armana Limited, of St Andrews Dock, Hull, owners of the Marbella and Charles Waddy, the master, both pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 23(2) of the Petroleum Act 1987 before Hull Magistrates on 19 June 2003. In his sentencing remarks yesterday, Recorder David Ake recognised the potential for disaster was "enormous" adding, "safety at sea must be maintained". Armana Limited were fined £40,000 with £15,000 costs and Charles Waddy was fined £3,000.

Graham Boys, inspector with HSE's Offshore Division said: "HSE's purpose in investigating
an incident is to identify any failings and, if necessary, prosecute; in this case both defendants have acknowledged their guilt. In addition, HSE seeks to prevent recurrence of such incidents and to use this opportunity to remind all relevant parties that prosecution will follow inappropriate safety zone infringements of this type.

"While no one was injured this incident was potentially very serious. Had the Marbella hit the other side of the leg and gone underneath the accommodation platform, it could have collapsed onto the vessel. If the gas conducters had been fractured, the release of hydrocarbon gas could have caused a fire and explosion, resulting in a high risk of multiple fatalities on both the vessel and the installation."

Notes to editors

1. The Rough field complex is a southern North Sea gas installation and was operated by Dynegy Storage Ltd at the time of the incident. It is located approximately 18 miles north east of Easington (near Hull) and is comprised of two installations, Rough 47/3B and Rough 47/8A. The 47/3B installation has three bridge-linked platforms: an accommodation and wellhead platform BD; a central processing platform BP and a well head platform CD.

2. Section 23 (2) of the Petroleum Act 1987 states: "If a vessel enters or remains in a safety zone in contravention of subsection (1) then, subject to subsection (3), its owner and its master shall each be guilty of an offence and liable -

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine or to both."

Section 23 (1) states: "Where by virtue of this Act there is a safety zone around an installation, no vessel shall enter or remain in the zone except -

(a) in the case of a safety zone established by an order under section 22, in accordance with that order, or

(b) in that or any other case, in accordance with regulations made or a consent given by the Secretary of State."

Section 23 (3) states: "It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that the presence of the installation or the existence of the safety zone was not, and would not on reasonable enquiry have become, known to the master."

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