Offshore board takes beating at chopper inquiry

The board that regulates Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore oil industry came under fire Thursday at the offshore helicopter safety inquiry in St. John’s.

The lawyer representing workers said the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board failed to act quickly to protect the safety of offshore workers.

"It seems to have taken a room full of lawyers to get (the board) to recognize that night flying is a problem, to recognize that a one-hour wheels-up time is not good enough," said Randy Earle, a lawyer representing hundreds of workers belonging to the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union.

Recently, all of the oil companies agreed to stop flying workers to offshore platforms at night. They took this step after it was pointed out repeatedly at the inquiry that search-and-rescue coverage is not as good at night as it is during daylight.

The helicopters used by Cougar crews — the first response search-and-rescue teams based in St. John’s — are not equipped to perform rescues at night. The union representing offshore workers raised the issue months ago.

Faster response times elsewhere

The inquiry has also learned that Cougar rescue crews in other parts of the world can get off the ground 15 minutes after they get a call. In St. John’s, it takes crews 45 minutes to an hour. Earle said this, too, should have been known months ago, but the offshore board didn’t act until it was pushed by inquiry commissioner Robert Wells last week.

Last Friday, after Wells said Cougar's reaction time didn't meet the highest standards, the board ordered companies to take immediate steps to improve rescue response times.

Howard Pike, the board's chief safety officer, testified Thursday at the inquiry set up because of the helicopter crash last March that killed 17 people.

Over and over, Earle pushed Pike on Cougar's search-and-rescue capabilities, on how the board audits the equipment and training of helicopter pilots and on how the board has responded to complaints about ill-fitting survival suits.

Earle demanded an explanation for why it took nearly a decade to change the survival suits to include an underwater breathing apparatus. He said he was baffled the board left it to the oil companies to push the change through.

"I suggest to you that this amounts to the (board) contracting out a significant part of its role to one of the interested parties," he said. " What is the rationale for that beyond, 'well other people do it?'"

Pike answered that some safety improvements could have been handled differently.

"In hindsight, there could have been better approaches," he said.