Roughneck Injured Aboard Transocean Barents Drilling Rig

By Rob Almeida On March 4, 2015

Transocean Barents, image: Transocean

Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority has launched an investigation into an incident on board the Transocean Barents semi-submersible drilling rig on 4 March when they say a roughneck suffered crush injuries.

“The injured drill floor worker was on the monkey board, about 10-12 metres in the derrick, at the time of the accident. He has been flown to Ålesund Hospital in western Norway,” according to the PSA.

The monkey board is the term for the slots that hold the stands of drill pipe which are arranged on the rig floor.  Each slot has a hydraulic latch that holds each stand of drill pipe in place until they are grabbed individually by the pipe racking system and brought to the center of the rotary table.

Transocean Barents is located on the Ormen Lange field in the Norwegian Sea under a contract with A/S Norske Shell. Activity on the rig has now been halted.
Shell notes in an emailed statement to gCaptain, “He was doing an inspection job when the incident occurred.”