An investigation into the death of a Scottish electrician working on a drilling rig in the Southern North Sea has been launched.
Walter Mann was on the Noble Hans Deul vessel on January 27, 2022, when he was found collapsed and unresponsive in a cabin by another member of crew.
Attempts to resuscitate the 48-year-old, who lived in Weydale, near Thurso on the north coast of Scotland, were unsuccessful and he was declared dead.
A post mortem gave the medical cause of death as “unascertained”.
An inquest into the circumstances around the incident was opened on Wednesday at Norfolk Coroner’s Court at County Hall, the judicial body has confirmed.
Offshore safety watchdog the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is currently looking into the case, and a report is in the process of being prepared.
An HSE spokesperson said: “We are in the process of concluding our investigation and will fully support the Coroner’s proceedings.”
In a formal statement from Gary Mann, Mr Mann’s son, assistant coroner, Samantha Goward, confirmed that Walter Emil Henry Mann was born in the town of Dunbar, near Edinburgh, in Scotland on March 5, 1973.
The inquest has been adjourned, and will resume in July.
Noble Hans Deul
At the time of Mr Mann’s death, the Noble Hans Deul jack-up rig was in the Southern North Sea working on IOG’s Saturn Banks gas project.
It was subsequently sold to a newly-formed subsidiary of Dubai-based Shelf Drilling in order to clear competition hurdles arising from by New York-listed Noble’s (NYSE: NE) merger with Maersk Drilling.
The rig is now called the Shelf Drilling Perseverance.
Drilling contractor Noble has been contacted for comment.
