Ensco Offshore UK fined following death of rig worker whose body was never recovered

An offshore firm has been handed a £267,000 (US$358,000) fine after a long-running investigation by the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that a rig crewman was killed when he fell through a missing deck grate and was lost to the North Sea.

Ensco Offshore UK (EO UK) was responsible for the operation of the Valaris 121 installation when the incident occurred on January 22, 2023.

Jason Thomas, 50, from South Wales, was an experienced offshore worker with around 16 years in the industry. At the time of his death, he was employed by Ensco Services, a wholly owned company of EO UK, where he had progressed from roustabout to deck foreman and then crane operator.