Summary of HSE Investigation and Fine Following Offshore Rig Fatality

Ensco Offshore UK, a subsidiary of Valaris, has been fined £267,000 plus a £20,025 victim surcharge after a fatal incident on the jack-up rig Valaris 121. On 22 January 2023, rig worker Jason Thomas went missing and was later determined to have fallen into the North Sea. His body was never recovered despite a coastguard search.

Cause of the Incident

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) investigation concluded that Thomas fell through a deck grate that had not been properly secured. Specifically, the grating panel was not fixed according to the original equipment manufacturer's specifications, and subsequent inspections failed to verify the correct deployment of Hilti clips, which are designed to secure gratings to their substructures. The investigation also found that wave action during the afternoon applied sufficient upward force to displace the grating, causing the fixings to fail. The possibility of malicious interference was ruled out after HSE's Buxton facility found no tool marks on the fixings or clips.

Worker Background and Company Responsibility

Jason Thomas, a 50-year-old offshore worker from South Wales with 16 years of industry experience, had progressed from roustabout to deck foreman and crane operator. He was employed by Ensco Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ensco Offshore UK, at the time of his death. The HSE's principal inspector, Steven Hanson Hall, stated that if the company had taken simple measures to identify and control underlying risks—particularly during the rig move—the incident would likely never have occurred.