Lose Weight Or Lose Your Jobs, Offshore Workers Told

Thousands of North Sea lipid workers are being told they must suffer weight if they are to support flying offshore - aliases look losing their jobs.

From November adjacent year, manufacture assemblage Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) said nan maximum clothed weight for a worker heading offshore should beryllium 124.7kg (19.5 st) - truthful they tin beryllium winched to information successful an emergency.

The 249kg (39st) maximum Coastguard rescue chopper winch load is made up of that fig positive nan mean 90.3kg (14st) weight of a rescue worker, a 29kg (4.5st) stretcher and nan 5kg (0.8st) kit.

OEUK said much than 2,200 workers were presently supra nan weight limit, and jobs could beryllium mislaid successful nan worst lawsuit scenario.

The caller safe weight limit policy comes aft nan Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) warned that rescue winches - which are captious during offshore emergencies - cannot safely assistance heavier people.

OEUK said nan mean weight of offshore workers had risen by almost 10kg (1.5st) since 2008.

The determination to instrumentality a safe weight limit for offshore workers follows a reappraisal by manufacture experts complete nan past two-and-a half years.

Rules astir enarthrosis size were antecedently introduced for workers travelling to and from offshore installations by helicopter.

Passengers pinch a enarthrosis width of 22in (56cm) aliases much were classed arsenic "extra broad" and had to beryllium adjacent to a likewise ample chopper window, truthful they could escape.

Phil Perry, 42, from Aberdeen, was 129kg (20st) astatine 1 shape - which would person been complete nan caller limit.

He is now 118kg (18.5), and his target weight is 110kg (17st).

Mr Perry said nan fearfulness of losing his occupation was an added information to support his weight down.

"There's not a batch of group talking astir it offshore yet," he said.

"You've benignant of sewage to understand that backmost successful nan 70s and nan 80s nan mean personification was astir 70-odd kilos, it's evidently going successful an upward trend.

"I deliberation you possibly person to do thing astir that, because you don't want to beryllium nan 1 stranded location because you're excessively dense to beryllium lifted out."

Mr Perry said it was imaginable to beryllium patient while moving connected a level successful nan North Sea.

"There are a batch of patient group offshore, location are gyms, you tin spell for a locomotion information nan helideck, you tin beryllium fresh there, I deliberation it conscionable comes down to individual mindset of each individual.

"There's a wide scope of consequence and patient options, but there's besides crisps and sweets which does not help.

"Everybody tin suffer weight, it's keeping it disconnected that's nan difficult thing. I was 1 of these group that did these benignant of crazy diets, but you can't support it off."

He said he started eating nan correct foods astatine nan correct times, adding: "I started seeing nan results."

He said he "definitely" feared nan caller rules would lead to occupation losses.

"It will impact nan excavation disposable to spell offshore, there's a batch of america retired there, and sadly it's conscionable nan measurement that it's going to go, that group will commencement losing their jobs, which is not bully for anybody," he said.

He added that nan onus was connected unit themselves, arsenic good arsenic employers, to make a difference.

Graham Skinner, nan wellness and information head astatine OEUK, said it was hoped nan caller information argumentation - arsenic portion of a "robust information culture" - would not lead to occupation losses, but he could not norm it out.

"That would beryllium nan absolute worst-case scenario.

"Employers will person a work to support their workers done this and effort to find reasonable solutions for it, but successful nan very worst cases that would beryllium nan lawsuit for immoderate people."

Mr Skinner described it arsenic "really important" that location was a clear connection to nan workforce that nan caller rules were going to travel in.

"Hopefully that is nan impetus for everyone to get down nan argumentation and suffer weight successful clip for November adjacent year," he said.

"There are those who are going to person a existent situation complete nan adjacent 12 months to suffer weight to get nether nan weight limit.

"There is astir 2,270 that are going to person to suffer a small spot of weight to make judge they tin proceed moving aft November adjacent year.

"At that constituent an offshore worker who weighs complete 124 kg will not get their aesculapian and that will preclude them from getting connected a helicopter."

However, Mr Skinner said they were "really confident" that nan "vast majority" of workers were going to get nether nan weight limit.

He cited nan support they would get from their employers, nan offshore operators, and nan offshore organization itself.

"We person already heard of offshore workers who are offering circuit training and gym sessions for workers," he added.

"So it's a awesome opportunity for nan organization to travel together."

John Boland, nan location serviceman astatine nan Unite union, said: "We would dream that cipher loses their occupation done this and location tin beryllium support put successful to extremity that from happening.

"The biggest concerns we person had are from individuals that are people larger built and successful immoderate cases are highly fresh but are supra that existent weight limit.

"Those are discussions we request to have, really we tin support those individuals arsenic well."

The mandatory implementation of nan caller argumentation will beryllium from 1 November 2026.