DOF Subsea Australia Pty Ltd convictions

Following a lengthy trial, DOF Subsea Australia Pty Ltd (DOF) were today convicted in the Magistrates Court of Western Australia of three counts of an employer negligently breaching its health and safety duties under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006.

The breaches occurred during saturation diving undertaken in 2017 at the Ichthys Field on the Skandi Singapore Facility. This included saturation diving operations from a diving support vessel to facilitate the repair of subsea infrastructure located on the seabed at a water depth of between approximately 237 and 270 metres.

Between 6 December 2017 and 7 March 2018, NOPSEMA received complaints from seven of the saturation divers, advising of neurological injuries sustained during the diving operations.

On 6 December 2017, NOPSEMA commenced a major investigation into complaints received and subsequently forwarded a brief of evidence to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

As Australia's independent, expert regulator for the offshore energy industry, the workplace health and safety of the offshore workforce is at the core of what we do.

We remain focused on our compliance monitoring and enforcement activities to ensure operators are appropriately identifying and managing risks. NOPSEMA will continue to take enforcement action that is appropriate to the seriousness of any incident.

Sentencing will occur on a date to be set.