Incredible footage has been captured of a pod of whales near a North Sea oil platform.
The video, uploaded to the “Life at Sea on an ERRV” Facebook page, was taken 100miles north-east of Shetland.
An ERRV – emergency response and rescue vessel – is a ship that is required to be near an oil and gas installation for safety-critical tasks, such as during helicopter transfers.
The captain of the vessel said the pod of whales are believed to be Pilot Whales, although that has not been confirmed.
The “Life at Sea” page is perhaps better known through its “Bigwavemaster1” Youtube channel, which regularly posts videos of the ERRV’s voyages across the North Sea, tackling mammoth waves in the process.
Marine mammals and rare birds have regularly been spotted at offshore installations in the UK sector.
Last year it was confirmed the North Sea Bird Club, which recorded these sightings, was being wound down as a knock-on effect of the last oil downturn in 2014.