UK – Offshore Firm Fined Following Fatal North Sea Rig Accident

May 21, 2026

An offshore company has been fined more than £287,000 after a worker died in a tragic incident aboard a North Sea rig in 2023.

Ensco admitted breaching health and safety regulations at Aberdeen Sheriff Court after crew member Jason Thomas disappeared while working on the Valaris 121 rig. The company was fined £267,000, with an additional victim surcharge increasing the total penalty to £287,025.

Thomas, a 50-year-old offshore worker from Newport, Wales, was on board the jack-up rig as it was being towed to Dundee, approximately 100 miles southeast of Aberdeen. He was last seen leaving a lounge area before disappearing without explanation.

Shortly after he was last seen, a colleague reported hearing a loud noise and went to investigate. Outside a nearby doorway, a metal grating had become dislodged and was found resting on top of other gratings, leaving an exposed opening directly above the sea.

When Thomas could not be found anywhere on the vessel, the alarm was raised and a major search and rescue operation began. However, despite efforts to locate him, the search ended the following day, and his body was never recovered.

During court proceedings, prosecutor Richard Brown described Thomas as an experienced and highly respected worker who was known for being professional, safety conscious, and approachable among colleagues.

The Crown argued that insufficient fastening clips had been used to secure the grating. According to prosecutors, rough sea conditions and wave movement during the towing operation likely caused the fixings to fail, creating the dangerous gap.

Representing Ensco, Barry Smith KC expressed the company’s condolences to Thomas’s family and acknowledged failings in safety procedures. He stated that the firm accepted responsibility for not properly securing the grating to prevent it from detaching during transit. Smith also highlighted the company’s previous clean safety record and described the event as a tragic accident from which lessons had been learned.

Sheriff Morag McLaughlin described the incident as a deeply tragic case while recognising Ensco’s otherwise strong safety history and the actions it had taken in response.

Following the hearing, Health and Safety Executive principal inspector Steven Hanson Hall said the incident had left a lasting impact on Thomas’s co-workers and local community. He emphasised that the failure to recover Thomas’s body had caused significant distress to his mother, who has since died.

Hall also stressed that grating systems must be properly designed, maintained, and secured, especially in offshore conditions where damage risks are increased. He added that simple preventative measures during the rig transfer could likely have prevented the fatal incident.