Offshore safety body audits Transocean Arctic rig

Norway’s safety watchdog, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), has found no non-conformities during an audit of the Transocean Arctic semi-submersible rig.

PSA said on Monday that the conducted audit of the Transocean Arctic was done in respect to structural safety.

Even though no non-conformities were identified, the PSA found five improvement points.

Namely, the improvement points are related to follow-up of condition reports, operational criteria for bringing the rig into a safety condition, updating of stability manual, condition monitoring of seawater pipes, and differences in light ship displacement.

The audit was conducted on April 4 and 5 at Transocean’s premises at Forus in Stavanger. PSA said the probe addressed robustness in the context of ageing mechanisms, lifecycle challenges, and barriers within structures and marine systems as well as analyses of waves on deck.

The Transocean Arctic was built in 1987 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan. The semi-sub was upgraded in 2004 and received an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) from the PSA in July of that year. It is registered in the Marshall Islands and classified by DNV GL.

PSA added that it told Transocean to report on how the improvement points will be assessed by May 19, at the latest.