Tributes have been paid on the first anniversary of a worker going missing from a North Sea oil rig, 100 miles off Aberdeen, but no report has yet been filed with prosecutors.
Jason Thomas went missing from the Valaris 121 on the night of Sunday, January 22, 2023 while the rig was on tow to Dundee.
The Health and Safety Executive, which is leading the investigation, later found a hole in the decking of the rig, which Mr Thomas is thought to have fallen through.
However, 12 months on, a report has not yet been submitted to the procurator fiscal which would precede any prosecution or Fatal Accident Inquiry.
Meanwhile jurisdictional questions over the investigation remain.
One legal expert, who did not wish to be named, said cases like this can take at least two years to investigate, adding that a year is “not an unusual amount of time” to have passed without the HSE report being finalised.
However the RMT Union warned that the time being taken could mean any inquiry has “minimal impact” on Valaris or the wider industry.
Following the incident, the HSE issued two industry-wide notices last year warning operators to check their gratings for holes in their offshore assets.
In July, BP was fined following the death scaffolder Sean Anderson who fell through decking on the Unity asset – a stationary platform.
Valaris, which operates the Valaris 122 rig, did not respond to a request for comment on the anniversary of Mr Thomas’ disappearance.
Police said last year that the 50-year-old was from Wales, though no further details, like his home city, have been released per requests of his family.
Mark Wilson, HSE and Operations Director at trade body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), said: “The health and safety of those working in the industry is paramount and the one-year anniversary of the Valaris 121 incident allows us to offer our sympathy to the families and friends that have been impacted by this incident.
“OEUK ensured that the lessons learned from this incident were shared with its members who subsequently took action required in industry safety alerts. The anniversary is a time to ensure that these lessons are not forgotten and as an industry we remain constantly vigilant.”
The HSE, Police Scotland and the Scottish Government all said their thoughts are with Mr Thomas’ family.
Questions over regulatory oversight
It was initially unclear which body had jurisdiction over the investigation, and the RMT Union has maintained that the incident may have exposed a legal loophole.
From a marine accident investigation perspective, neither the Maritime and Coastguard Agency nor the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch are taking part.
Last year, then transport minister Richard Holden confirmed in Parliament that the West African nation of Liberia, where the rig is registered, has opened an investigation.
He said the UK a “registered the UK as a Substantially Interested State in the Liberian investigation and has offered support”.
The jurisdictional confusion has raised questions for the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union, which said workers need “need better and more coherent protections than those exposed by the Varais 121 incident”.
National secretary Darren Proctor said: “It comes as no surprise that the HSE have not filed a report with the Procurator Fiscal, in fact we suspect this may never happen.
“RMT has yet to be convinced that the UK authorities have jurisdiction to pursue any kind of legal action against Valaris given the circum-stances of this tragic event.
“When the worker was lost, the rig was in effect a ‘ship’ and subject to the regulations of the flag state of the vessel’s registration, in this case Liberia. Additionally the vessel was in international waters in terms of UK maritime legislation.”
Mr Proctor questioned whether the procurator fiscal has scope to bring a prosecution, should that be recommended by HSE.
“We suspect the only course of action open to the PF’s office could be a FAI. However, given the time it takes to bring an FAI to the courts, an inquiry would likely have minimal impact for Valaris or the wider industry. For RMT, only a significant change to the regulatory regime will bring about robust oversight and accountability to the offshore energy sector.”
Timeline
© Supplied by DCTJan 22: Worker goes missing as Valaris 121
Jan 25: Police board rig in Dundee
Jan 31: Worker named by police as Jason Thomas
Feb 21: HSE take over investigation, police confirm no suspicious circumstances.
March 22: HSE confirms hole in deck discovered on rig
March 23: Safety alert issued to North Sea operators by HSE
July 4: Valaris 121 departs Dundee
An HSE spokesperson said: “Nearly one year on from his disappearance our thoughts remain with the family of Jason Thomas. The investigation into the circumstances around what happened continues.”
Police Scotland Detective Inspector Andrew Wilson said: “Our thoughts remain with Jason’s family.
“Our searches may have concluded for now, but this remains an open missing person investigation and we will act on any information we are provided with.
“Anyone with information should call Police Scotland on 101, quoting 3341 of 22 January, 2023.”
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