Seacroft Marine launches offshore zone management assurance

Aberdeen-based maritime specialist Seacroft Marine Consultants has launched 500m zone management assurance and auditing for offshore installations.

Seacroft Marine said that the new assurance process would continue to monitor operational safety standards after providing initial training to help installations manage ship movements when they come close to platforms.

It is the latest development from the marine assurance provider which builds upon training it launched earlier this year for offshore installation personnel responsible for vessels operating within the safety zones.

“With 97 percent of collisions occurring within the 500m zone involving vessels there on legitimate business, the company offers guidance, recommendations and training courses on how to improve existing practices and safety and now ongoing assurance to verify that standards continue to be maintained,” said Seacroft.

Michael Cowlam, technical director at Seacroft Marine, said: “Vessels colliding with offshore installations have long been considered a major risk, and there is a new focus on having more robust and effective procedures in place to address this.

“As well as a training course, we have developed audit and inspection templates for installation personnel to monitor ships within the 500m safety zone. These complement our training, and it is easy to check if the procedures are still being followed.”

The safety zone is the area extending 500m from any part of an offshore oil and gas installation and is established automatically around all installations. Subsea installations may also have safety zones to protect them which are created by the statutory instrument.

“The audit and inspection templates for installations complement training we also offer for vessels about the 500m safety zones so that both perspectives are covered. It is crucial to consider monitoring and auditing how the safety zones are being managed,” added Cowlam.

The next stage of the project will see a review of potential technical solutions to identify products which can further enhance monitoring of vessel approach speeds, headings and proximity to offshore installations with more precision using instruments and on-screen displays onboard the installation.