Description of Incident
After landing a lower completion assembly on the drill floor and while retracting the deck crane whip line and twin hook stinger back through the v-door, the twin hook stinger swung to starboard causing one of the hooks to strike a blanking flange on the drill floor deluge line.
The 4.95kg blanking flange detached and fell 4.5 metres to the drill floor, landing approximately 1.5 metres from the nearest person. This incident was classified as potential for fatality as per the industry DROPs Calculator.
Contributing Factors:
The dropped object incident was primarily caused by severe corrosion in the drill floor deluge pipework, exacerbated by a missing support bracket that led to pipe sagging and water accumulation. This corrosion weakened the flange, making it susceptible to impact from the stinger hook. Additionally, the stinger was released in an uncontrolled manner—hooks were not secured or safely guided out—further contributing to the incident.
Good Practice Guidance
1. Regular inspection and maintenance of deluge pipework is essential to prevent corrosion-related failures. Ensuring pipework is suitably supported to avoid sagging and water traps, and that planned maintenance activities remain robust enough to identify where the potential for corrosion exists is essential (consideration should be given to aging assets). Corrosion and missing supports can weaken the system and increase the likelihood of dropped objects.
2. Lifting equipment, such as stingers, must be handled in a controlled manner. Twin hooks should be secured to prevent swinging and guided out through the V-door or another safe route to avoid striking nearby equipment. Poor handling increases the risk of dropped objects and damage.
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