EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS

SUMMARY

There is a potential for major structural damage to offshore installations leading to fatalities and serious injuries in the event of collision by either a passing or an in-field seagoing vessel. Both categories of collision have occurred on the UK Continental Shelf although to date only significant, rather than catastrophic, consequences have occurred. Internationally, collisions have occurred that have caused both loss of life and environmental damage. This report describes work to update the Ship/Platform Collision Incident Database for the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) and the collision frequency analysis which was previously described in Research Report RR053 (2001). Report RR1153 considers collision threat detection.

Data was collected from collision incident record sources to confirm or complete previous records and to expand the database up to December 2015. The database overlaps with the previous version by providing information from 1996 to 2015. The database of operating experience has been recompiled and extended to encompass all mobile and fixed installations operating on the UKCS and takes into account recent abandonments. The main database includes actual collisions, while 'near misses' are analysed in a separate section. In an attempt to expand the previous database and gain further understanding of the scale and nature of the 'near miss' events, data from a variety of sources is included: the findings are interpreted in section 4 of the report.

This Research Report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy.