More than 50 people were evacuated from a North Sea oil rig after it was hit by a supply vessel on Sunday
Harbour Energy personnel were airlifted from the Valaris 120, around 149 miles south-east of Aberdeen, yesterday morning after the collision at around 10:18pm.
52 “non-essential” workers were flown to Aberdeen on three flights after the ship crashed into one of the rig’s legs.
Valaris 120 is a jackup rig and was previously known as Valaris JU-120, which was subject to the collapse of one of its cranes.
Around 128 personnel were onboard the Valaris 120 before the evacuation. The installation is currently deployed alongside the Judy offshore platform.
‘Everyone safe’ after oil rig evacuation
A spokesperson for Harbour Energy said: “People are our priority, and everyone onboard the rig and the vessel is safe and well.
“Our incident response teams have been mobilised and are in liaison with the relevant authorities.
“Further information will be made available when details are confirmed.”
Harbour is the UK North Sea’s largest independent oil and gas producer and J-Area was its largest producer in 2023.
It struck a deal in September with Bermuda-based Valaris (NYSE:VAL) to extend the rig contract on the field for a further three years.
Valaris was created in 2019 through a merger of rival rig contractors Ensco and Rowan, forming the largest firm globally by fleet size.
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