A woman who was charged with sparking the largest security scare in the history of the North Sea will face no further action, the procurator fiscal’s office confirmed yesterday.
Fourteen military and civilian helicopters were scrambled from bases across the country to the Safe Scandinavia platform on February 10 after allegations were made about a “possible suspicious device”.
A bomb squad was put on standby and 161 staff were airlifted to neighbouring platforms in an operation costing upwards of £1million.
The alert was raised at 9.20am but it was not treated as a false alarm until six hours later when Grampian Police stood down those drafted in to help.
Dana Rosu, 23, a Romanian-born caterer on the Britannia Operators flotel stationed 130 miles offshore, was later charged with breaking the peace.
She made no plea during an appearance at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and was later remanded to the city’s Cornhill Hospital for psychiatric assessment.
Ms Rosu, whose address in court was given as 17a Jasmine Terrace, Aberdeen, was granted bail in March on condition that she surrendered her passport.
A spokeswoman for the procurator fiscal in Aberdeen said: “After careful consideration and full investigation, Crown Counsel have decided there will be no criminal proceedings in the case against Dana Rosu.”
Ms Rosu was said to be suffering from psychological problems in the days leading up to the incident.
It is understood bosses overheard her talking about a dream she had about a bomb, sparking the security operation.
Jake Molloy, general secretary of the Offshore Industry Liaison Committee, said he was relieved by the court’s decision but was critical of management’s handling of the incident.
He said: “I’m delighted to hear it. Certainly early anecdotal evidence suggests it’s been very badly managed.
“Talking to guys who were there at the time suggests the girl was clearly having problems a couple of days in the run-up to this and nothing was done.
“It’s also been suggested her own line manager said something had to be done because she was clearly having problems but management decided not to.
“And subsequently, as we now know, she had this mental episode which could have been avoided, I think, with early intervention. So I’m delighted to hear she won’t be charged and I think she has suffered enough already.”
Mr Molloy added: “I would like to see some kind of inquiry or report as to how we got to the stage we did.”
Ms Rosu could not be contacted for comment.
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