UNIONS representing offshore workers in the North Sea have hit out at the leniency of the punishment handed out to an engineering firm which put workers at risk. 

Representatives from the RMT and Unite have raised concerns about the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) response to a serious safety incident in the offshore decommissioning sector.

Evidence last year showed an accident that occurred during decommissioning work carried out by contractor Ocean Kinetics on the Buchan Alpha rig in waters off Shetland. 

The thousand-tonne structure suddenly fell several feet, seriously endangering the safety of Ocean Kinetics and all other staff on the job.

The HSE’s investigation into this incident found that Ocean Kinetics’ deballasting of the structure broke the law.

But following an investigation, the HSE only issued the firm with a notice of contravention and a fine for an undisclosed amount.

Unions say that the HSE could have taken stronger action, such as issuing a notice of prohibition. 

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that stronger regulation by the HSE must be “an absolute priority.”

He said: “This deeply troubling incident sent shockwaves among offshore contractors. 

“Ocean Kinetics clearly tried to decommission the Buchan Alpha on the cheap, massively increasing the risk to workers’ safety and damaging standards in the UK decommissioning sector.”

The calls come as Unite raised its own concerns about the investigation, claiming that the outcome was “highly disappointing.”

Regional organiser John Boland told Energy Voice: “We have workers running for their lives and Ocean Kinetics gets a slap on the wrist.

“It shows what we have said for a long time, that the HSE is a paper tiger with no bite, and it takes fatalities for serious action to be taken.”

Ocean Kinetics and HSE were approached for comment.