The Offshore Installations (Offshore Safety Directive) (Safety Case etc.) Regulations 2015

Internal emergency response

30.—(1) The duty holder must perform the internal emergency response duties—

(a) consistently with the external emergency response plan; and

(b) taking into account the risk assessment undertaken during preparation of the current safety case for the installation.

(2) Where the duty holder has adopted other measures, the duty holder must perform the internal emergency response duties so as to secure a good prospect of personal safety and survival, taking into account the adoption of those other measures.

(3) In paragraph (2) “other measures” means measures relating to protection and rescue of personnel from a stricken installation, apart from any measures adopted in performance of the internal emergency response duties.

(4) Where an installation is to engage in a combined operation the duty holder for the installation must make arrangements, in advance of the installation’s engagement in the combined operation, for coordinating escape, evacuation and rescue between the installations concerned, to secure a good prospect of survival for persons on the installations during a major accident.

(5) Where a non-production installation is to engage in a combined operation and the description of the internal emergency response arrangements is revised, the owner must send a revised description of the internal emergency response arrangements to the competent authority.

(6) Where a mobile non-production installation is to be used for carrying out a well operation the owner must perform the internal emergency response duties taking into account the risk assessment undertaken during the preparation of the notification of well operations.

(7) Where a mobile non-production installation is to be used for carrying out a well operation and the description of the internal emergency response arrangements is revised as a result of the particular nature or location of a well, the owner must send a revised description of the internal emergency response arrangements to the competent authority.

(8) Paragraphs (5) and (7) do not apply where a revised description of the internal emergency response arrangements has been sent to the competent authority as a revision which makes a material change to the current safety case that is required to be sent to the competent authority under regulation 24(2) in connection with the same operation.

(9) Subject to paragraph (10), the duty holder must send the revised description of the internal emergency response arrangements to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency(1) as soon as is practicable.

(10) Where—

(a) the description of the internal emergency response arrangements is revised because there is a material change to any of the particulars contained in a design notification, relocation notification, notification of well operations or notification of combined operations; but

(b) that revision makes any change to the current safety case which must be accepted by the competent authority under regulation 19(7)(c), 20(1)(c), 24(2)(b) or 25(3)(b),

the duty holder must not send the revised description of those arrangements to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency before the competent authority has accepted the relevant revisions.

(11) In any case falling within paragraph (10), the duty holder must send the revised description of the internal emergency response arrangements as soon as practicable after the competent authority has accepted the revisions.

(12) The duty holder must maintain expertise relevant to the internal emergency response duties in order for that expertise to be available at all times and to be made available as necessary to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

(13) In this regulation “external emergency response plan” means the national plan setting out arrangements for responding to incidents which cause or may cause marine pollution prepared by the Secretary of State pursuant to section 293(2)(za) of the 1995 Act, as revised or re-issued from time to time(2), and the Search and Rescue Framework for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as published by the Secretary of State, as revised or re-issued from time to time(3).

(14) In this regulation and regulation 2(10) “the internal emergency response duties” means the duties in the following regulations of the PFEER Regulations(4)—

(a) 5 (assessment);

(b) 6 (preparation for emergencies);

(c) 7 (equipment for helicopter emergencies);

(d) 8(1), (2), and (3) (emergency response plan);

(e) 9(1) (prevention of fire and explosion);

(f) 10 (detection of incidents);

(g) 11 (communication);

(h) 12 (control of emergencies);

(i) 13 (mitigation of fire and explosion);

(j) 14 (muster areas etc.);

(k) 15 (arrangements for evacuation);

(l) 16 (means of escape);

(m) 17 (arrangements for recovery and rescue);

(n) 22B (initiation and direction of emergency response, and liaison with external response authorities); and

(o) 22C (arrangements for early warning of major accidents).

(1)

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is an executive agency of the Department for Transport.

(2)

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/408385/140829-NCP-Final.pdf.

(3)

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/291770/mca_uksar.pdf. A hard copy of the Search and Rescue Framework may be obtained by application to the EC Group, Europa Park, Magnet Road, Grays, Essex, RM20 4DN.

(4)

Regulations 22B and 22C are inserted by paragraph 23 of Schedule 13 to these Regulations.