The Board was notified on Sunday, July 5, 1998 of an incident involving the GEMEVAC evacuation system that occurred while testing the system at the Hibernia platform. On Monday, HMDC briefed the Board regarding the circumstances surrounding the event and its plans for investigating the cause. The Board noted that the system has not as yet been certified for service and that the incident resulted in no injuries or damage to the platform.

The Hibernia platform is fitted with eight seventy-two person lifeboats equipped with PROD launching systems and three Sealantic Skyscape liferaft systems. Thus, without the GEMEVAC system in service, it is equipped with approved evacuation capacity for three times the number of personnel allowed onboard and meets the requirements for such equipment specified in the Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Installations Regulations.

In testing the GEMEVAC system, HMDC has been attempting to develop a system that would enhance safety on the Hibernia platform. The conceptual advantage of the GEMEVAC is in evacuating personnel directly from the platform to the standby vessel without resorting to launching lifeboats or liferafts into the sea. The Board has encouraged this initiative as an advancement in the systems available for offshore evacuation and is disappointed in the results to date.

Hibernia’s Safety Plan anticipated that the GEMEVAC system would successfully complete sea trials and be certified for use by this time. In light of this second incident while testing the system, the Board has begun a review of the Hibernia Safety Plan with a view to identifying any steps that need to be taken in the event the GEMEVAC system remains unavailable for service. This review is in addition to the investigation of the incident and the review of the GEMEVAC system as a whole that HMDC has already undertaken to conduct.

The installation will continue operations while these reviews are being conducted because the existing arrangements for evacuation on the Hibernia platform meet the requirements specified in the regulations and are equal to, and generally exceed, arrangements on such installations worldwide. The Board will closely monitor HMDC’s investigations and reviews and will audit the results of this work which the Board requires be completed as expeditiously as possible.