Probe into offshore rig incident uncovers serious breaches

May 1, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Scotland-headquartered offshore drilling contractor Odfjell Drilling has been served with an order from Norway’s offshore safety regulator, which investigated an incident that resulted in an injury at a semi-submersible rig deployed on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

Deepsea Nordkapp rig; Source: Odfjell Drilling

The Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) has looked into the incident on Odfjell Drilling’s Deepsea Nordkapp semi-submersible drilling rig, which occurred on October 8, 2025, in which a person was injured during a lifting operation. At the time of the incident, the rig was engaged in drilling and completion operations on the Symra field for Aker BP. The activities involved handling a logging tool that was to be moved from the catwalk to the pipe deck using the starboard offshore knuckle boom crane.

Three people were directly involved in the incident: the crane operator and two deck operators, who served as the signaller and the slinger, respectively. The logging tool, which weighed 2.67 tonnes and was 11.81 meters long, swung uncontrollably during the lifting operation and struck the deck operator, acting as the slinger, in the chest area.

The deck operator was seriously injured and flown ashore by the SAR service for medical treatment. The Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority explained that the deck operator was struck by the logging tool and suffered a broken arm and several broken ribs. The person also sustained internal injuries. The incident did not result in any material damage or environmental contamination.

Based on the regulator’s data, the incident could have resulted in more serious injuries or death under slightly different circumstances. The direct cause of the incident was found to be in the load not being fully under control during the lifting operation, while the deck operator, who was injured, was standing in the path of the load and, at times, directly beneath it. As a result, the person was struck by the load while the crane operator was trying to regain control.

The probe identified serious regulatory breaches; thus, the regulator has issued the company an order. The underlying causes of the incident entail inventory and inventory overview, deficient expertise and experience in the offshore organization, handover, planning and execution of lifting operation, work permits, follow-up of own organization, and safety culture.

In addition, four non-conformities were identified, including planning and execution of the lifting operation, transfer of information at shift and crew changes, handling of hazard and accident situations, and follow-up. Given the identified serious regulatory breaches, the regulator has issued Odfjell Drilling with the order that asks the company to identify the reasons why requirements for lifting operations were not complied with, including requirements for competence and training.

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The rig owner has also been ordered to implement measures to ensure compliance with lifting operation requirements, identify the reasons why the requirements for handover meetings and the planning of lifting operations were not complied with, and put in place measures to ensure compliance with the requirements for handover meetings and the planning of lifting operations.

The firm has also been told to review the process to ensure that the follow-up activities described in governing documents are planned and carried out in a risk-based and appropriate manner, and evaluate measures, alongside the impact of the measures outlined in the second, fourth, and fifth items.

The deadline for complying with the first five segments of the order is June 1, 2026. Havtil requested a meeting to be scheduled by June 5, 2026, to present the findings and proposed measures. The end date for complying with the final item is October 2, 2026, with a meeting requested to be scheduled with the regulator by October 9, 2026, to present the results.

The 2019-built Deepsea Nordkapp, formerly Stena Midmax, is a sixth-generation dynamically positioned harsh environment and winterized semi-submersible of a Moss-enhanced CS 60E design, which the offshore drilling contractor bought from Samsung Heavy in April 2018.

Odfjell Drilling was among the three offshore drilling contractors that won drilling and wells alliance deals with Aker BP in January 2023 to undertake drilling activities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The Deepsea Nordkapp rig’s assignment, previously slated to be completed at the end of 2024, was prolonged to run for two more years.