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29 April 2005 - Shell Expro Fined Over
Brent Bravo Deaths
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Following the hearing of Shell Expros' plea of guilty to
breaching health and safety legislation on 30 March 2005, at Stonehaven Sheriff
Court and further court appearance on 27 April 2005, the court has imposed a
fine totalling £900,000.
Sean McCue and Keith Moncrieff were the two victims in the
incident at Shell Expros' Brent Bravo Platform on 11 September 2003.
Shell Expro admitted the following breaches:
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Breaching of Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at
Work Act 1974, by "failing to ensure the health and safety of employees and
people not in their employment."
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Breaching of Regulation 3(1) of the management of Health and
Safety at Work Regulations 1999, by "failing to complete a suitable and
sufficient Risk Assessment."
Mr. Tom McLaren, one of the Principal Inspectors with HSE’s
Offshore Division commented after the hearing:
"Our first thoughts are with the families of Sean McCue and
Keith Moncrieff and the deep sense of loss that they must feel.
“HSE conducted an extensive investigation. Shell co-operated
fully and has admitted to fundamental failures in health and safety management
on Brent Bravo. This has been reflected in the penalties imposed by the court
today. Essential barriers to the unplanned release of hydrocarbon gas that
should have been in place were not – even though these were not high-cost items
for an offshore operator. As a direct consequence of these failures, two men
died.
“Their deaths are a stark reminder of the dangers offshore workers can be
exposed to if risks are not adequately managed and should act as a riposte to
any suggestions that health and safety initiatives offshore have become
over-zealous. As the case proves, any reduction in vigilance by either managers
or the workforce may well have reprehensible results, not only in terms of harm
to people, but also the sustainability of the UKCS. Good safety performance is
inseparable from sustainable operational performance – ultimately optimum
production is not possible when accidents take place offshore.
“This incident had very serious underlying causes: failure to maintain known
defective equipment properly and a failure to assess potential consequences. HSE
believes that the circumstances on Brent Bravo which led to these two deaths
could have occurred on other offshore installations if maintenance had been
neglected and continuation of production allowed to take priority over safety,
notwithstanding the fact that this approach is senselessly short-sighted. The
message to the oil industry is clear: they should critically examine their own
maintenance systems to make an honest assessment of how much confidence their
senior management can have in the safety and integrity of their installations."
Article by Alexandra Johnston
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