Fire breaks out on rig standby vessel off Canada

Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor reported that a fire had occurred on the fast rescue craft (FRC) onboard the Siem Diamond vessel, which was on standby at the time to the Transocean Barents rig off Canada.

The incident occurred early in the morning of 16 September 2020, according to Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB).

All personnel safely mustered, there were no injuries and all personnel were accounted for, the Canadian regulator added.

The fire team was able to quickly extinguish the fire, however, the FRC received extensive damage and was deemed unavailable.

There were no reports of other damage or impairments to the vessel.

As the FRC on the stand-by vessel Siem Diamond was unavailable for use, all planned helicopter flights and other non-critical operations onboard the Transocean Barents were temporarily suspended.

A replacement standby vessel was deployed to the rig location and has assumed standby duties.

The Transocean Barents has resumed operations, the regulator stated.