Working environment

In 2025, one near-miss, two minor personal injuries and four possible ear infections were reported in association with saturation diving on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) and foreign shelves under Norwegian jurisdiction. For surface-oriented diving offshore, no incidents were reported.

The Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) has issued an order to KCA Deutag Drilling (KCAD) following an audit of the working environment on the Askeladden mobile drilling facility.

On commission from Havtil, Safetec has prepared a report that presents a way to keep track of operational barrier elements. The report also describes how competence can be strengthened among operational personnel concerning barrier management relating to maritime incidents.

Investigation of accidents and undesireable incidents is an important feature of Havtil’s risk-based supervision. Through investigation and sharing of experiences, we contribute to strengthen safety in the offshore industries.

The Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) has carried out an order of Island Drilling focused on safe operations and maintenance on Island Innovator. We have identified serious breaches of the regulations and have now issued the company with an order. Parts of the order must be complied with before the facility is taken into use.

The Norwegian Ministry of Energy has defined the framework for the activities of the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) in 2026. The letter of allocation provides clear guidelines for how the authority should promote safety, the working environment, emergency preparedness and security in the ocean industry.

A lot of scaffolding is erected by employees without sufficient, documented training. This has contributed to a number of accidents. Although the regulations require the employer to be able to document training in both theory and practice, a choice is often made in favour of courses that provide only theoretical training.

The Norwegian Ministry of Energy confirms the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil)’s rejection of Equinor’s application for an exemption from the regulations.

In October 2025, 40 representatives from the petroleum industry met to discuss how artificial intelligence can help improve the effectiveness of inter-company learning. A common taxonomy for incident classification may be the key to realising this potential.