Suncor in another near miss incident on Terra Nova FPSO

Canadian offshore regulator has reported a near miss incident on the Terra Nova FPSO operating in the Atlantic Ocean offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. 

According to a Tuesday report by C-NLOPB, Suncor Energy has reported that on October 12, 2019, workers on the Terra Nova FPSO were completing a lift using an air hoist that travels on a trolley assembly through the lower turret to the roof of the Quick Connect DisConnect (QCDC) room.

Following the completion of the lift and while preparing to store the air hoist and trolley assembly, a sling failed. The trolley assembly weighing approximately 200kgs fell approximately 34m onto an enclosure below.

The regulator said that there were no injuries and no personnel were in the area, as the area was a restricted work area and requires permission for entry. The incident had the potential for fatality based on the Dropped Objects Prevention Scheme (DROPS) calculator.

The area was secured and the air hoist winch has been taken out of service. The C-NLOPB is monitoring Suncor’s continued investigation of the incident.

The Terra Nova FPSO is moored at the Suncor Energy-operated Terra Nova field, which is located offshore approximately 350 kilometers southeast of Newfoundland and Labrador.

This is Suncor’s third near miss incident on the Terra Nova FPSO in less than a year. The first one happened in March 2019 when a grease drum dropped from a lifting basket, coming to rest on an enclosure below.

In June 2019, an offshore worker aboard Suncor’s Terra Nova FPSO offshore Canada was exposed to hazardous contents of a slop tank.

In addition, an investigation was launched in September 2019 after an offshore worker suffered injuries on a Transocean-owned drilling rig operating for Suncor Energy offshore Canada.