Archer Knight Support Well-Safe Solutions On Rig Based Diving Project

Aberdeen headquartered offshore energy services provider Archer Knight (Holdings) Limited , have had the privilege of supporting Well-Safe Solutions for the past three years, creating a bespoke ‘Manned and Remote Underwater Operations Manual’ for rig-based diving operations on both semi-submersible and jack-up units.

David Sheret , co-founder of Archer Knight, stated;

"We are very pleased to have been involved in this project with Well-Safe Solutions. Archer Knight has steadily built a comprehensive diving technical services capability over the past six years. With Derek Beddows at the helm, we believe we are now positioned as a leading creator and developer of bespoke Diving and Subsea Safety Management Systems, the Well-Safe Solutions project only underpins our beliefs. Our Diving Safety Management Systems are designed around our Client’s specific needs and requirements to enhance safety and efficiency, and we are proud to have supported Well-Safe Solutions in achieving their goals."

Derek Beddows, Director of Diving Safety and Services at Archer Knight, said;

"Working with Well-Safe Solutions on this highly complex, innovative and unique project has been a pleasure and I would like to thank Adam Young and all the team at Well-Safe Solutions for their belief in Archer Knight.

I was able to draw upon my own personal experiences of diving from both jack-up and semi-submersible rigs and drill-ships back in the 1970’s and 80’s during the development of the Well-Safe Solutions Documentation.

The need for UKCS rig based manned diving intervention over the past 30 years has significantly reduced in frequency, this has been due to many factors, but the development of powerful and multi-tooled, Work Class Remotely Operated Vehicles (WROV’s), the issue of various Health and Safety Executive Regulatory Requirements such as;

• 1997 Diving at Work Regulations. (DAWR 97)
• Prevention of Fire and Explosion and Emergency Response on Offshore Installations (PFEER 1995)
• The Offshore Installations (Offshore Safety Directive)(Safety Case etc) Regulations 2015

along with fluctuations in offshore global drilling demands and the appearance of technically advanced Light Well Intervention /Diving Support Vessels have all played a part.

The advantage of the Well-Safe Guardian unique approach is that it combines both manned saturation diving and remote vehicle intervention to provide the capabilities required to intervene on older wellheads and wells and perform the required plugging and permanent abandonment requirements.

The Well-Safe Guardian, in-situ, saturation diving complex comes complete with two Self Propelled Hyperbaric Lifeboats (SPHL’s) to evacuate saturation divers expediently from the scene in the event of an emergency. In previous years during saturation diving operations from mobile rigs, this SPHL capability simply did not exist.

This unique capability also ensures compliance with other Diving Industry recommended practices and guidance.

Collaboration and co-operation with the HSE Diving Inspectorate has also been very helpful in understanding and agreeing the best ways forward where diver safety is concerned. Diver safety has been the absolute number 1 priority throughout this overall development.”

To learn more about Archer Knight's diving safety and services, visit www.archerknight.com or email Derek at [email protected]