There was a security alert on Sunday at one of Britain’s largest gas fields in the North Sea. Over 160 people had to be taken off the platform and taken to safety while production was stopped entirely.
Both military and civilian helicopters cooperated to evacuate workers from the platform of the Safe Scandinavia rig. Nimrod surveillance aircraft also joined the evacuation team.
A worker first noticed a ‘possible suspicious device’ earlier in the day on the platform, causing the security scare. Officials were later able to confirm that it was only a false alarm.
There are about 500 workers on board the Safe Scandinavia rig, which is attached to the Britannia gas platform by a bridge. Workers on the oil field use the Safe Scandinavia as a kind of hotel. The hotel is owned by a company based in Oslo known as ProSafe. The joint venture is located approximately 210 kilometres off the Scottish coast near the city of Aberdeen.
Britannia Operator Ltd released a statement about Sunday’s events. “A thorough search…has revealed nothing suspicious and it has now been deemed safe for workers to return to normal operations,” it said.
“All those involved in the incident are safe and unhurt and the installations are secure,” it added.
The Britannia field is operated by ConocoPhillips and Chevron, both American companies, and produces 14.35 million cubic metres of gas each day.
Police who investigated the incident said they did not think that it was related to terrorism. One spokesperson for the police said that no one had been arrested and that the incident was “very quickly contained”.