Whenever offshore personnel need to be evacuated to shore, an extensive system is mobilised to meet and look after it in the best possible manner. Persons with physical injuries are of course transported directly to hospital.
Everyone else is taken care of in a dedicated centre at the nearest airport, which is also the meeting point for next of kin in need of information, assistance, care and someone to talk to.
The operator´s association for emergency response (OFFB) has established such centres for evacuees and next of kin at several locations along the Norwegian coast: In Stavanger, Bergen, Florø, Kristiansund, Brønnøysund and Hammerfest.
In Florø, OFFB has an agreement with Nordic Choice Hotels. In all other cities, agreements are signed with Thon Hotels.
See also: What happens if
See also: OSEP
Should an incident occur on board the Petrojarl Knarr FPSO, operator AS Norske Shell will mobilise its centre for evacuees and next of kin in Florø. The same OSEP will be used by Neptune Energy, if an incident should occur on the Gjøa field.
All centres are required to carry out regular exercises, and to keep their expertise and systems updated. The corona pandemic has occasionally made it challenging to gather many people for this type of exercises. When an opportunity to do so is offered, it should therefore be taken advantage of.
On November 30, personnel from OFFB, AS Norske Shell, Petrojarl Knarr FPSO’s owner Altera Infrastructure Production, Neptune Energy, Nordic Choice Hotels and Securitas met up for a guided tour of the hotel’s facilities. There was also a plenary review and discussion of the plans and guidelines for handling a possible incident, and the way key actors should collaborate in crisis situations.
The meeting was followed by an exercise on December 1, involving representatives from AS Norske Shell, Altera Infrastructure Production, Securitas and staff from the hotel.
See also: Looking after people affected by crises
