Triggered lightening leaves 300 workers stuck on oil rig

Hundreds of offshore workers could walk Christmas successful the North Sea aft upwind conditions cancelled much than 50 chopper flights.

About 300 staff, galore of whom are Scottish, person been incapable to permission platforms disconnected Denmark arsenic scheduled.

French steadfast TotalEnergies said a improvement called "triggered lightning" was liable for the disruption.

The institution said it would ne'er compromise with the information of employees.

It besides denied reports it was refusing to reschedule cancelled flights and enactment other transport connected to get workers location for Christmas.

A spokeswoman said: "Helicopter transports during wintertime astir the North Sea are ever challenging owed to ice, fog, upwind speeds and different factors.

"This twelvemonth has been peculiarly impacted by alleged "triggered lightning" which is caused by polar aerial passing implicit a warmer oversea surface.

"This improvement has led to the cancellation truthful acold of 52 flights successful November and December 2022 which tin beryllium compared to zero cancellations caused by triggered lightning during the aforesaid play successful 2021.

"Unfortunately, the improvement cannot beryllium eliminated with de-icing systems, arsenic has been mentioned successful the media."

The company, which runs the Tyra Redevelopment Project, said manned offshore installations were usually serviced by helicopters.

They usually transports 130 radical backmost and distant each weekday retired of a full offshore unit of astir 1,250.

"Since the flights person not been capable to instrumentality spot to the required extent, determination are astir 300 radical who should person near and are present awaiting transport to shore," the spokeswoman said.

"We ne'er compromise with the information of our employees, neither connected the platforms offshore nor during the transport backmost and distant betwixt Esbjerg [Denmark] and the fields 250km retired successful the North Sea.

"We are successful adjacent dialog with our supplier of flights, Offshore Helicopter Services Denmark, and different parties, truthful that we tin champion support our employees informed and reconstruct flights erstwhile it is safe. "

TotalEnergies has besides called successful helicopters from different supplier to summation the fig of flights erstwhile upwind allows them to resume.

The spokeswoman added: "In addition, we person committed 3 boats astatine abbreviated notice, which tin dock adjacent to the platforms and found a harmless footbridge if the question tallness is not excessively great. The archetypal 1 near Esbjerg harbour the nighttime betwixt Saturday and Sunday, and caller vessel trips are planned for this week.

"We volition bash our outmost to bring each stranded radical backmost earlier Christmas."