VOS Sailor Disabled Offshore Scotland, Daring Helicopter Crews Rescue 11

VOS Sailor is an emergency response and rescue vessel. Image courtesy Vroon

At approximately 0500 hrs local time on Saturday, the offshore support vessel VOS Sailor suffered damage and was disabled in severe weather conditions in the Balmoral Field off Aberdeen, UK.

Amidst storm-force weather conditions, 12 crew members were hoisted from the disabled vessel by Bond Offshore helicopter crews who were the first to reach the stricken vessel.  8 crew were recovered in the initial mission while a helicopter crewman was left on board to coordinate the rescue of the 4 remaining crewmembers.  One crewmember has reportedly died.

Luke Farajallah, Managing Director of Bond Offshore Helicopter, commented: “I would like to commend our search and rescue crews, who did a fantastic job earlier today in extremely challenging and hazardous conditions. Today is testament to the experience, training and dedication of those crews, which is second to none. Our thoughts are with the family of the crew member that lost his life.

Unmanned and at the mercy of the storm-tossed sea, the VOS Sailor is currently drifting in the vicinity of  the North Sea Producer platform, which has been evacuated as a precautionary measure.

About Bond Offshore’s Search and Rescue Helicopters

Bond Offshore’s search and rescue operation in the North Sea comprises two dedicated, specially-modified Eurocopter Super Puma AS332L2 Mark II helicopters made available under a long-term contract with BP to provide 24-hour airborne search-&-rescue and medical evacuation for its workforce in a unique UK North Sea system known as Jigsaw.  One of the high-specification, twin-engine aircraft is based at Sumburgh Airport, Shetland, the other on the Miller platform, in the central North Sea.

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