No prosecution after two workers nearly killed at Santos facility off WA

Three years after two workers were nearly killed by a massive steel platform swinging wildly over their heads, WA’s safety regulator has decided not to prosecute any of the companies involved.

The near-fatal incident on July 5, 2021, occurred when the lift of a disused 28-year-old Santos oil and gas platform went badly wrong, forcing the workers on the structure below to scramble for their lives to avoid both the platform and torn steel cables flying through the air.

The two workers on the platform were not the only ones at risk, with broken steel cables crashing into the nearby construction vessel, endangering the crew.Credit: Nine

Worksafe has finally finished its investigation and decided for a number of reasons not to prosecute any of the companies involved in the incident off the Pilbara coast.

“These include that no one was injured; the time that has passed since the incident; the difficulty accessing several witnesses and proving a breach beyond a reasonable doubt; and that the cost of prosecution may be disproportionate to the available penalty which is a maximum of $110,000,” a Worksafe spokesman said.

The lift involved numerous companies, with owner Santos contracting Dutch company Fugro to remove the Sinbad platform, Swiss-based Allseas to supply the crane-equipped vessel and rope access technicians from then Singapore-listed AusGroup.

Difficulties determining where the responsibility lay among the different companies made mounting a prosecution harder, according to a person familiar with the investigation but not authorised to speak to the media.

Any prosecution would have occurred under the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act in force at the time of the incident.

New WA work health and safety legislation allows a maximum penalty of $1.8 million if a company exposes a worker to a risk or death or injury. That is the equivalent to about three hours’ worth of Santos’ revenue in 2023.

The Worksafe spokesman said it had been in regular contact with Santos since the incident to ensure it improved its decommissioning procedures to prevent similar incidents.

Union condemns investigation and lack of prosecution

The lack of a prosecution has infuriated the Offshore Alliance, formed by the Maritime Union of Australia and the Australian Workers Union to represent offshore oil and gas workers.

Brad Gandy, AWU WA branch secretary, said it was totally unacceptable the regulator had let the companies involved “off the hook for an incident which had the capacity to seriously maim or kill workers.”

“The Offshore Alliance and our members have lost all confidence in Worksafe being able to protect the health and safety of oil and gas workers,” he said.

Gandy said one worker was unable to work for more than two years after this incident.

“Worksafe didn’t bother to interview our members who were involved in the decommissioning work on the Sinbad Platform for more than three months after the incident took place,” he said.

“Worksafe have let our members down badly.”

In a note to industry Worksafe pointed to excessive reliance on what had worked before and a lack of engineering analysis of this particular lift as the main contributors to the incident.

Danger Island

The shambolic removal of the Sinbad platform is just one of five known serious environmental and safety incidents in Santos’ operations around Varanus Island in the past three years.

The details of two incidents in Commonwealth waters were published by federal regulator NOPSEMA. However, the three incidents in state waters closer to the coast, including the Sinbad platform, only became public knowledge after media reports.

In March 2022, a faulty hose used to load tankers caused a 25,000-litre oil spill where at least three dead dolphins were found floating shortly afterwards. Santos denied any link between the spill and the deaths of the dolphins.

A spokesman for WA’s Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety said it was reviewing the evidence gathered during its investigation of the spill and considering potential enforcement outcomes.

Later in 2022, the department found ten Santos platforms around Varanus Island were in a dangerous state of disrepair. Workers could no longer safely access the facilities due to “high criticality” corrosion on ladders, decking, handrails and on the facilities for tying a boat up.

Santos’ own plan to keep the platforms safe said structural weaknesses “may result in injuries/fatalities to personnel visiting the platform”.

A Worksafe spokesman said the improvement notice it imposed on Santos remained in place while the company conducted the agreed repairs.

A Santos spokeswoman said safety was its top priority.

“We took the time to review lessons learned from previous campaigns and worked with regulators and contractors to strengthen assurance processes,” she said.

The Campbell platform, similar to and near Sinbad, was removed earlier this year without incident.

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