S.I. No. 14/1991 - Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) (Emergency Procedures) Regulations, 1991

S.I. No. 14 of 1991.

SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE (OFFSHORE INSTALLATIONS) (EMERGENCY PROCEDURES) REGULATIONS, 1991.

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS.

Regulation

1. Citation and commencement.

2. Interpretation.

3. Application.

4. Emergency procedures and other alternative manuals.

5. Power to amend manuals.

6. Emergency notices.

7. Muster lists and list of personnel.

8. Musters.

9. Drills.

10. Exemptions.

11. Drills for drill crews and in connection with blow-out preventers.

12. Records.

13. Stand-by services.

14. Duties.

15. Translation of manuals etc.

S.I. No. 14 of 1991.

SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE (OFFSHORE INSTALLATIONS) (EMERGENCY PROCEDURES) REGULATIONS, 1991.

I, BERTIE AHERN, T.D., Minister for Labour, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 5 , 16 , 18 and 22 of the Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) Act, 1987 (No. 18 of 1987), and the Schedule to that Act, after consultation with the Minister for Energy and after consultation with the Minister for Health and the Minister for the Environment insofar as these Regulations relate to the health of persons and to fire safety measures respectively and with the concurrence of the Minister for Communications, the Minister for the Marine and the Minister for Tourism and Transport insofar as the Regulations relate to hovercraft, helicopters or other aircraft, vessels, radio facilities or radio services or to rescue facilities, hereby make the following regulations:

1 Citation and commencement.

1.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) (Emergency Procedures) Regulations, 1991.

• (2) These Regulations, other than subparagraph (a) of paragraph (6) of Regulation 13, shall come into operation on the 1st day of May, 1991.

• (3) Subparagraph (a) of paragraph (6) of Regulation 13 of these Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of May, 1992.

2 Interpretation.

2.

2. In these Regulations:

"the Act of 1987" means the Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) Act, 1987 (No. 18 of 1987), as adapted by the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989 (No. 7 of 1989);

"approved languages" in relation to any information to be posted and displayed or kept available for inspection means such language or languages or character or characters as are required to enable the information to be understood by all persons who may have need to refer to it;

"the Authority" means the National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health established pursuant to the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989 (No. 7 of 1989);

"emergency" includes an apprehended emergency;

"emergency procedures manual" has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 4 of these Regulations;

"emergency station" has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 7 of these Regulations;

"maintained" means, except where the context otherwise requires, maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair;

"muster list" has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 7 of these Regulations;

"stand-by vessel" has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 13 of these Regulations;

"survival craft" has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 2 of the Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) (Life-Saving Appliances) Regulations, 1991 ( S.I. No. 15 of 1991 );

"survival suit" has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 6 of the Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) (Life-Saving Appliances) Regulations, 1991 ( S.I. No. 15 of 1991 ).

3 Application.

3.

3. (1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2) of this Regulation, these Regulations shall apply to offshore installations, on which persons are employed or on or from which persons work, in waters to which the Act of 1987 applies, which are maintained, or intended to be established, for the exploration for or exploitation of minerals under the sea bed and shall include any installation providing accommodation for persons who are employed on or who work on or from any such offshore installation so engaged in exploration for or exploitation of minerals.

• (2) Regulations 4 and 5 of these Regulations shall apply to every offshore installation which is intended to be established for the exploration for or exploitation of minerals whether or not there are persons employed thereon.

4 Emergency procedures and other alternative manuals.

4.

4. (1) There shall be provided in respect of every offshore installation a manual, to be known and in these Regulations referred to as the "emergency procedures manual", which shall specify the action to be taken in the event of an emergency on, in, at or about the said installation or involving persons working from the said installation.

• (2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1) of this Regulation, an emergency procedures manual shall specify the action to be taken in the event of any or all of the following occurring, namely:

• (a) fire;

• (b) explosion;

• (c) blow-out of a well;

• (d) leakage or spillage of any oil or gas, which is offensive or injurious to persons;

• (e) climatic conditions affecting the stability of the offshore installation;

• (f) movement of the sea bed affecting the stability of the offshore installation;

• (g) failure of the structure of the offshore installation or any of the component parts affecting the integrity of the offshore installation;

• (h) failure of any equipment on the offshore installation affecting the safety of persons;

• (i) failure of the means of keeping the offshore installation on station;

• (j) collision involving the offshore installation;

• (k) helicopter accident;

(l ) person falling from the offshore installation or man overboard emergency;

• (m) loss of radio-active materials;

• (n) loss of or damage to stand-by vessel; and

• (o) death, serious injury or illness.

• (3) The emergency procedures manual or other alternative manual shall specify also:

• (a) distinctive code of signals for transmission over the general alarm system for signifying the occurrence of specific emergencies, action to be taken in respect of any of them and instructions for the transmission of such signals;

• (b) instructions for operation of emergency equipment;

• (c) instructions for rendering safe in an emergency any work in progress or any equipment in use;

• (d) personnel evacuation procedures;

• (e) arrangements for the rescue and evacuation of divers;

• (f) measures to be taken by the stand-by vessel for signal transmission, personnel recovery and evacuation procedures in an emergency;

• (g) any arrangements made by the owner of the offshore installation for action by any person in another location to provide assistance in an emergency;

• (h) any available search and rescue services; and

• (i) any other matter.

• (4) The emergency procedures manual or other alternative manual shall contain details of the survival craft, the procedures for testing and maintaining such craft, for having such craft in a prepared state for use pursuant to Regulation 4 of the Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) (Life-Saving Appliances) Regulations, 1991 ( S.I. No. 15 of 1991 ), for launching such craft in an emergency and for the rescue of its occupants in an emergency.

• (5) The emergency procedures manual shall contain the names and addresses of national and local authorities to which any particular emergency is to be reported and the method and timing of such reports.

• (6) Copies in approved languages of the emergency procedures manual, and of any other alternative manual in which are specified any of the matters referred to in paragraphs (3) and (4) of this Regulation, shall be kept readily available for inspection by all persons on the offshore installation.

• (7) The owner of an offshore installation shall give to the Authority a copy of the said manual or manuals.

• (8) A copy of the said manual or manuals shall be so given before commencement of any exploration or exploitation.

5 Power to amend manuals.

5.

5. (1) The Authority may require the owner of an offshore installation to make a change or changes in the contents of:

• (a) the emergency procedures manual; and

• (b) any other alternative manual insofar as such contents relate to any matter referred to in paragraphs (3) and (4) of Regulation 4 of these Regulations.

• (2) Notice of any such change or changes deemed necessary by the Authority shall be served in writing on the owner in accordance with section 7 of the Act of 1987 and the reason or reasons therefor shall be stated and the date from which the change or changes shall be made shall be specified.

6 Emergency notices.

6.

6. (1) At every place on an offshore installation at which there is provision in the emergency procedures manual or other alternative manual for particular action to be taken in an emergency, there shall be posted and displayed a notice specifying the action to be taken there.

• (2) Copies of all such notices or relevant extracts from them shall be posted and displayed in the accommodation areas of the offshore installation for the attention of the person or persons who may be required to take the particular action in an emergency.

• (3) The notices and extracts referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Regulation shall be in clear and permanent lettering in approved languages, and shall be posted and displayed in such positions on the offshore installation as to be clearly legible and easily readable by all persons thereon.

7 Muster lists and list of personnel.

7.

7. (1) There shall be provided on every offshore installation a list, to be known and in these Regulations referred to as a "muster list", which shall specify, in respect of every person on or boarding the said installation, the station, to be known and in these Regulations referred to as the "emergency station", to which that person shall proceed, and the duties assigned to him in the event of an emergency.

• (2) The muster list shall specify the person appointed to be in charge of each emergency station and the persons to whom the following tasks are assigned:

( a ) closing of wells;

( b ) closing of pipes carrying hydrocarbons and other flammable substances and of the related ancillary equipment;

( c ) closing of fire doors, water-tight doors and ventilators;

( d ) shutting down of non-essential plant;

( e ) extinguishing of fire;

( f ) preparation of survival craft, life rafts and related equipment for use;

( g ) the launching of survival craft and life rafts;

( h ) the safety and welfare of visitors; and

( i ) any other relevant matters.

• (3) Copies of the muster list shall be posted and displayed in approved languages in such positions as to be clearly legible and conveniently readable in all accommodation areas and extracts from the muster list that are appropriate to particular emergency stations shall be similarly posted and displayed in approved languages at those stations.

• (4) There shall be maintained on every offshore installation a list of personnel set out in alphabetical order showing the names of all persons on the said installation at any time and showing, where applicable, the name of the employing contractor of each one of the said personnel.

• (5) A copy of the list of personnel provided pursuant to paragraph (4) of this Regulation shall be sent ashore at least once in every period of twenty-four hours.

• (6) Where a change occurs in the personnel on the said installation, the installation manager shall amend, or cause to be amended, the list of personnel provided pursuant to paragraph (4) of this Regulation and shall send, or cause to be sent, forthwith a copy of the said list either:

( a ) ashore; or

( b ) to another offshore installation.

• (7) A copy of every list of personnel, prepared at each change of personnel pursuant to paragraph (6) of this Regulation, shall be kept available for inspection by an inspector for one year or for so long as the offshore installation remains in waters to which the Act applies, whichever period is the shorter.

8 Musters.

8.

8. (1) At least once in every twenty-eight days there shall take place on every offshore installation a muster to ensure that all persons on the said installation are conversant with their duties in an emergency, practised in their performance and skilled in their implementation: provided that a muster shall take place immediately on the said installation's arrival at and immediately prior to its departure from station.

• (2) When the signal for muster is given every person on the offshore installation shall be required to proceed immediately to his assigned emergency station and to don a life jacket.

• (3) Every person shall be instructed to report without delay on arrival at the emergency station to the person in charge of that station.

• (4) The specific duties, in relation to the musters, of the person in charge of an emergency station shall include the following:

( a ) determining the location of all persons assigned to that station;

( b ) requiring every person on arrival at the station to specify the duties assigned to him on the muster list; and

( c ) reporting to the installation manager the names of those who arrive at the station and the level of knowledge possessed by each person regarding his assigned duties.

9 Drills.

9.

9. (1) At least once in every fourteen days there shall take place on every offshore installation drills in which:

( a ) every person to whom duties have been assigned in the event of an emergency, necessitating the procurement, use, handling or manipulation of plant or electrical apparatus, is made familiar with the location of such plant and apparatus and their proper safe use;

( b ) all plant and electrical apparatus required in the drills are verified, cleaned, maintained and, where appropriate, tested and subsequently recharged or replenished as the circumstances may require; and

( c ) all portable and transportable plant and electrical apparatus used in the drill are replaced securely in the correct place.

• (2) At least once in every eight weeks and within fourteen days of arrival on station there shall be held drills incorporating the swinging out and lowering to near the water surface and launching and sea trials of all survival craft provided on the offshore installation unless weather conditions do not permit any or all of these drills to take place. The drills shall include the testing or otherwise of emergency radio equipment, all fuel, mechanical and electrical systems and hydraulic or pneumatic circuits and any related controls for all survival craft so as to ensure that they are properly maintained.

10 Exemptions.

10.

10. The installation manager may grant exemption from the musters and drills specified in Regulations 8 and 9 of these Regulations to personnel carrying out work relating to drilling, production and crane operations, if these operations are at such a critical phase that an interruption of the work might endanger the personnel, the offshore installation or its plant: provided that the next such musters and drills shall be so arranged and timed that these personnel shall participate.

11 Drills for drill crews and in connection with blow-out preventers.

11.

11. (1) Each day all drill crews working in the following areas shall take part in emergency drills related to those areas:

( a ) shale shaker;

( b ) "mud room" pits; and

( c ) drilling floor and other locations where gas sensors are required.

• (2) Blow-out prevention drills shall take place weekly for each crew in handling blow-out preventers and in precautions to be taken in case of fluid or gas penetration into the well during drilling.

12 Records.

12.

12. There shall be entered in the installation logbook a record of every muster and of all drills and related activity conducted on the offshore installation in pursuance of the provisions of Regulations 8, 9 and 11 of these Regulations.

13 Stand-by services.

13.

13. (1) There shall be on hand at all times, except when prevailing weather and climatic conditions may endanger the crew, passengers or vessels, in the neighbourhood of every offshore installation a suitably equipped vessel, to be known and in these Regulations referred to as a "stand-by vessel", prepared to render immediate assistance in the event of an emergency on, in, at or about the said installation or involving persons working from the said installation.

• (2) A written analysis of risk to be known and in this Regulation referred to as a "risk assessment" shall be made of the geographical limits within which the stand-by vessel may manoeuvre so as to operate safely and effectively and satisfy the provisions of paragraph (1) of this regulation.

• (3) The stand-by vessel shall be suitably positioned at all times in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (1) of this Regulation and the requirements of the risk assessment.

• (4) A copy of the risk assessment shall be made available to an inspector on his request.

• (5) A stand-by vessel shall have sufficient accommodation for all persons who may be on the offshore installation at any time and shall be adequately equipped to provide medical treatment in an emergency.

• (6) A stand-by vessel shall:

( a ) be highly manoeuverable and able to maintain its position;

( b ) provide full visibility of the water-line in all directions from the bridge;

( c ) have at least two 360° searchlights capable of being remotely controlled;

( d ) have two rescue craft;

( e ) have the means to launch its rescue craft; and

( f ) have adequate means of communication by radio with its rescue craft.

• (7) There shall be provided and maintained at all times suitable signalling equipment which shall allow immediate communication between every offshore installation and its stand-by vessel in the manner provided for in paragraphs (1) and (2) of Regulation 27 of the Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) (Operations) Regulations, 1991 ( S.I. No. 16 of 1991 ).

• (8) The rescue craft provided on the stand-by vessel shall:

( a ) in the case of at least one craft be able to travel at twenty-five nautical miles per hour (25 knots) in normal sea states;

( b ) during rescue operations be crewed by three persons;

( c ) be equipped with adequate means of communicating with the stand-by vessel by VHF radio; and

( d ) carry an adequate portable searchlight.

• (9) Each crew member of the rescue craft shall be suitably trained to carry out all the tasks necessary in relation to the safe operation of the craft and the rescue of persons.

• (10) A survival suit shall be provided to and maintained for each crew member of each rescue craft.

(11). The rescue craft and all associated equipment shall be properly maintained.

14 Duties.

14.

14. In respect of every offshore installation, it shall be the duty of:

( a ) the concession owner and the owner to ensure compliance with these Regulations;

( b ) the installation manager to ensure—

• (i) compliance with Regulations 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of these Regulations,

• (ii) that every person aboard has been advised of the location, nature and extent of the duties assigned to him in an emergency and of the provisions which concern him in these Regulations and in the emergency procedures manual and other alternative manual, and

• (iii) subject to section 13 (3) of the Act of 1987, that the appropriate measures specified in the emergency procedures manual or other alternative manual are taken in the event of an emergency on, in, at or about the offshore installation or involving persons working from the said installation; and

( c ) every person to acquaint himself with the duties assigned to him in an emergency and with the provisions which concern him in these Regulations and in the emergency procedures manual and any other alternative manual.

15 Translation of manuals etc.

15.

15. Every manual, logbook or other document provided to, or requested for inspection by, an inspector or the Authority shall be accompanied, except where provided or kept available in Irish or English, by a translation thereof into Irish or English.

GIVEN under my Official Seal this 29th day of January, 1991.

BERTIE AHERN,

Minister for Labour.

The Minister for Communications concurs in the making of these Regulations.

GIVEN under my Official Seal this 22nd day of January, 1991.

RAY BURKE,

Minister for Communications.

The Minister for the Marine concurs in the making of these Regulations.

GIVEN under my Official Seal this 24th day of January, 1991.

JOHN P. WILSON,

Minister for the Marine.

The Minister for Tourism and Transport concurs in the making of these Regulations.

GIVEN under my Official Seal this 28th day of January, 1991.

SEAMUS BRENNAN,

Minister for Tourism and Transport.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations apply to specified offshore installations concerned with the exploration for, or exploitation of, minerals in waters to which the Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) Act, 1987 applies. They require the maintenance on such installations of a written code (called the Emergency Procedures Manual) specifying the action to be taken in an emergency. The Regulations prescribe, among other matters, for periodic musters and emergency drills and for the provision of a stand-by vessel for rendering assistance in the event of an emergency.