Posted on 09/03/2026 7:27:34 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Hundreds of North Sea workers are still too heavy for offshore helicopter travel less than two months before new rules come into force, BBC Scotland has learned.
From November they should weigh no more than 19st 7Ib (124.7kg) in their clothing and footwear, so they can be winched to safety in an emergency.
When the plans were announced by industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) last year, they said more than 2,200 workers were above that limit. New figures suggest up to 800 still exceed it.
Jobs could be lost as a result, and an occupational health expert said some had left the offshore industry rather than lose the weight.
However an employment law specialist said alternative onshore roles could also be explored by companies.
The new safe weight limit policy came after the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) warned that rescue winches - which are critical during offshore emergencies - cannot safely lift heavier people.
The 39st (249kg) maximum Coastguard rescue helicopter winch load is made up of the maximum clothed weight plus the average 14st (90.3kg) weight of a rescue worker, a 4st 7Ib (29kg) stretcher, and the 7Ib (5kg) kit.
OEUK said the average weight of offshore workers had risen by almost 1st 7Ib (10kg) since 2008.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
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Plus, don’t they work for 80 cents on the dollar compared to men? At least that’s what they keep telling me. I don’t know why anyone hires men. /s
Offshore oil rig transport is in my (current) wheelhouse.
Helicopters are not the problem - the problem is with the (very) few companies that make the hoists. And EU regulations.
And a North Sea oil rig is no place for a 300 lb person.
I’ve already posted this and just weighed myself. I’m 299lbs with visible abs.
I’m also an inch (or two, depending on time of day) shy of 7 feet and played power forward on a D1 basketball team. Most power forwards hover somewhere around 265-300. (Shaq, for example, was consistently over 300lbs, although he was always on the pudgy side.)
Stacy Abrams is now an oil worker?
In a North Sea Storm? For how long? If so, I stand corrected.
“ Not if he’s an offensive line coach on a power four football team.”
He fix not presenting like that. In fact look at his later posts to me. Before commenting and getting in on a conversation
“Fit” is also big part of the statement. I have more proximity to football that you can assume he does. My father was tall and struggled with being 240lbs. He had been defensive player for academy football div I
They fed him a lot of crap in the football dining hall. Spent a long time adjusting. Never really did. I knew his football buddies and othe marines he flew with
Am married to athletic ret fighter pilot. Many friends who played football they all struggle with weight and fitness is huge part of conversation. There was once- early 30 y/o report of high BP. The weightlifting had to stop. Diet completely adjusted. Fixed it. There was no 275 lbs. more like 180. And fit
As a nurse, I have to know how much people weigh in order to properly dose and to get full picture. Ive worked with old people. The fittest are also light weight. And few get into their 80s at over 200lbs. They’re not fit
Regardless, tge original poster diled back that estimate a lot
“ I’ve already posted this and just weighed myself. I’m 299lbs with visible abs.
I’m also an inch (or two, depending on time of day) shy of 7 feet and played power forward on a D1 basketball team. Most power forwards hover somewhere around 265-300. (Shaq, for example, was consistently over 300lbs, although he was always on the pudgy side.)”
So what?
Are you saying that it is impossible for a 275# person on an ice covered deck in a wind storm to get injured to the point that they need physical assistance? Who do you expect to be capable of that? This is why I suggested a limit, in order to manage the risk to those other people. Mind you I'm perfectly willing to be wrong if you can make a persuasive case, but so far your posting only addresses your own personal safety when my post was about everybody else.
“ In a North Sea Storm? For how long?”
Yes, in a North Sea storm. The boats literally look like lemons. No storm will sink it. You buckle in and go for a very rough ride.
The boats also launch when no helicopter would dare take to the air.
As for “how long”, I suppose that just depends. The North Sea isn’t exactly the Pacific Ocean. It’s smallish and boats are all over the place. You’re not terribly far from shore.
“So what?”
You said you find it hard to believe there can be 275lb physically fit people.
Well, every decent college or pro basketball team has 3 or 4. Multiply that out.
My entire artillery unit was guys my size.
Sorry, I didn't know you were the official 'who can post on a thread' police. I'll not comment further on this thread. Except to say, the fact that your father went flabby as an adult is not really relevant to the discussion.
Yeah, I didn’t say that.
First, this is about cable rescue. Not getting hustled on a helicopter that lands on deck. So an ordinary slip and fall does not result in a cable rescue.
Second, the decks are not covered in ice.
Third, cable rescues would happen in some weird double event where you have major mechanical problems and some situation where a boat can not just dock. I’ve literally never seen it. In a blow out, major catastrophic event, the lemon boats are your first and preferred method of evac. I have done that. It’s unpleasant several hours.
Fourth, if you are a big guy, you literally sign a waiver that says “I can’t be cable evaced” and you take the other options. No one is in “danger” except the guy who agreed to not take this option.
I had to sign the same waiver in the Army because I busted height requirements. My Kevlar basically made it down to my bellybutton.
It’s all part of the “joy” of being a giant.
As said before, this is much ado about nothing. I’m personally more worried about blood clots in my legs during long flights.
He was a scratch golfer who ran 5 miles a day.
You think a guy 275 is fit? Can he be 275 into hi 40s and 50s? Or is he going to struggle
Is that fit?
The conversation you butted into took a sharp turn tgat you missed.
“ You said you find it hard to believe there can be 275lb physically fit people.
Well, every decent college or pro basketball team has 3 or 4. Multiply that out.
My entire artillery unit was guys my size.”
275? As a combat nurse, I’m gonna say I doubt it
yeah, i was thinking that the workers aren’t too heavy, but the cheap helicopters they must be using are too weak, or maybe it’s just the cheap harbor freight winches they use ...
Are they heated? Otherwise, I have my doubts about that. Here's what Claude says:
That's a lot of ice.
While yours is a fair answer, somehow though, I just don't see decent people not risking their necks to save others. IOW, you do depend upon them but won't admit it.
lol... Fake it till you get it!!
The ice is not on the deck. It’s around the pilings.
The concern is not a person slipping. The concern is the ice catches waves and rips out your moorings and you go adrift.
The new limit is based on a comprehensive evaluation of all aspects of life on an oil rig to include transportation to and from work. And it’s got nothing to do with the helicopters themselves.
If you want to know the reals reasons (and stop the baseless guessing and blaming), here’s the reason from the horse’s mouth:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QgwWQ_Pg3A
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