Each year millions of offshore crew transfers take place and, whether by helicopter or vessel, the transfer process is one of the areas of greatest risk for personnel in global operations. Offshore transfer specialists, Reflex Marine are bringing safer crew change to the Campos Basin off Brazil in the shape of its FROG personnel transfer capsule.

The volume of personnel transferred by crane is estimated to be similar to that transferred by helicopter. In many areas of the world crane transfer is the primary means of crew change. In other regions, while not specifically used for this purpose, the role of the crane transfer in specialist operations (such as maintenance, construction or inspections) is vital to ensuring that passengers are moved in as timely and as economic a fashion as possible. In all offshore operations around the world, crane transfers are an invaluable emergency tool in the case of medical emergencies, evacuation and down-manning.

Globally, the traditional rope basket remains the most common piece of equipment used in conjunction with a crane for transferring personnel – but it’s not the safest. Reflex Marine has collated data on injuries and fatalities that have occurred during crane transfers over the last 16 years in the offshore oil and gas industry. Their findings suggest that the vast majority of those incidents have happened while using a traditional rope basket.

Tags: Reflex Marine