Safety

Bourbon Dolphin job would have been stopped in the
Norwegian sector

AHTS Bourbon Dolphin was grappling with a too heavy anchor in six metre waves north west of Shetland when the vessel capsized on April 12th and later sank, the Royal Commission sitting in Ålesund heard from crewmembers giving evidence.

A Commission member pointed out that operations in six metre waves would have been stopped in the Norwegian sector, while there is no such limitation in the British sector. Captain Grim Are Bergtun of Olympic Hercules told the enquiry that two other vessels were supposed to have done the job that Bourbon Dolphin had to take on. The operational plan was for the vessel to assist others. But suddenly Bourbon Dolphin became the main vessel of the operation. The charterer had asked for a vessel with minimum bollard pull of 180 tonnes, while Bourbon Dolphin had 194 tonnes. However, with the thrusters going, the actual bollard pull was much less. Bourbon Offshore managing director Trond Myklebust, told the Commission he had no idea why the vessel was designated the main ship. He said it was up to the charterer to decide if the vessel was up to the job.

Written: 2007-06-26 13.44.05
Editor: Petter Arentz