The Canada-Newfoundland & Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) reported this week that a near-miss incident occurred on the Hibernia platform on August 17, when employees were moving a 711 kg elevated feeder machine bridge adapter plate using a certified wire sling rated for 2235 kg. As the lift was started, the sling failed, dropping the plate approximately 4.8 metres to the mezzanine deck below.
Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd. (HMDC) stated that the incident caused no injuries, as no personnel were inside the exclusion zone. Based on the Dropped Objects Prevention Scheme (DROPS) calculator, the incident had the potential for fatality.
HMDC immediately ceased pedestal crane operations in the area and has initiated an investigation, which the C-NLOPB is monitoring, into the cause of the incident.
This was the third near-miss incident on the Hibernia platform this year. In March, two incidents occurred within a week of each other. No one was injured in either of those incidents.
