Shell has been landed with a warning from the safety watchdog after it found there were no lifeboats available on one of its North Sea platforms.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) made the discovery during an inspection of the Leman Golf platform in the Southern North Sea, which is normally unmanned.
Shell has until June 30 to remedy the issue.
A spokesperson said: “We are developing a plan to address the concerns raised by this notice and will work with the regulator to respond in the timeframe requested.
“The safety of our people and assets is a priority.
“We work hard to continuously improve our safety performance, which includes learning from any incidents that occur.”
HSE said the installation did not have a “Totally Enclosed Motor Propelled Survival Craft (TEMPSC)” available on the installation as an “alternative means of evacuation”.
The watchdog said the lack of lifeboats goes against the Shell platform’s operational safety case.
The Leman gas field lies around 30 miles north-east of Great Yarmouth and includes several bridge-linked platforms and normally unmanned installations.
In 2018 Shell UK marked 50 years of production in the North Sea which all began when the first production from Leman Field to the Bacton onshore plant in August 1968.
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