The UK Government is struggling to recruit the new North Sea inspectors it promised more than two years ago following the Macondo tragedy in the US.
Ministers were under fire last night after admitting they had failed to deliver a pledge to more than double the number of offshore safety chiefs based in Aberdeen.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) confirmed to the Press and Journal that it had only managed to increase the number of inspectors by three, despite two recruitment drives.
It means there are just 13 covering the North Sea, despite former energy secretary Chris Huhne pledging in January 2011 to boost the numbers from 10 to 25.
The promise was made after a review by the UK Government in the wake of the Macondo blow-out in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, which caused 11 deaths and a major spill.
DECC is currently advertising for eight more inspectors in Aberdeen, having added an extra three immediately after the Macondo spill.
Frank Doran, Labour MP for Aberdeen North and treasurer of Westminster’s all-party oil and gas group, expressed concerns about the recruitment problems.
“It’s deeply troubling given the message that Macondo sent out and the serious problems we’ve had on some platforms in the last year,” he said last night.
“We’ve got over 400 installations in the North Sea now – 13 qualified people is not a lot to cover that. And as North Sea platforms age, they are much more vulnerable.”
A DECC spokesman said: “In 2012, to help recruitment, we increased the salary range for offshore inspectors and managers. DECC is now looking to recruit eight additional inspectors in order to increase total numbers to 18 inspectors and three senior inspectors.”
He insisted that there was no safety risk attached to the delay in recruiting extra staff, with work being re-prioritised to provide an adequate level of regulatory inspections.
Offshore environmental inspectors visit offshore installations to regulate operational discharges, waste management and emergency preparations for spills.
Robert Paterson, safety director at industry body Oil and Gas UK, said: “Oil and Gas UK welcomes the additional resources being made available to the industry’s regulator, DECC, to carry out offshore inspections.”