Samundra Suraksha

It was during the monsoon season, so the weather was bad. The wind speed was 35 knots, there was a 5-m swell, and the sea current was three knots. The conditions meant that helicopter operations were not possible. A diving support vessel (multipurpose support vessel or MSV) called the Samundra Suraksha, about 100 m long, was working nearby in the oilfield, in support of saturation diving operations. 

At this point the MSV Samundra Suraksha experienced a strong heave from the swell, and its helideck collided with the gas riser (the main pipe bringing gas onto the platform complex). 

In addition the MSV Samundra Suraksha also caught fire. Several divers were in decompression chambers, and it was 15 hours later before it was safe to take them off the vessel. It subsequently sank (Fig. 13.3). 

MSV Samundra Suraksha on fire after the accident. It sank four days later. 

The accident had happened because, in a rush to transfer the injured cook to the platform, the vessel had approached the platform in an unsafe manner in severe weather. The crew of the MSV Samundra Suraksha were in too much of a hurry to do the right thing and help their colleague to reach the medical facilities on board the Mumbai High North platform complex. And, in a hurry to do the right thing, they caused a disaster. 

The common issue in both accidents was impulsive behavior by relatively non-senior people when faced with a (minor) crisis. In the case of Piper Alpha, it was the rapid decision to re-instate the standby condensate pump without checking its status properly. In the case of Mumbai High, it was the rapid decision to transfer the injured cook from MSV Samundra Suraksha to the Mumbai High North platform, despite adverse weather, the unavailability of the leeward crane, and the exposed design of the gas riser on the windward side. 

At the other extreme, operators must resist urges for impulsive action when faced with a problem. The immediate cause of the Piper Alpha accident was precipitate, impulsive action to restore to service a pump that was under maintenance. Similarly, the Mumbai High accident occurred because of ill-considered action to help a crew member on the MSV Samundra Suraksha who had cnt his fingers. Gronp think can also sometimes lead to bad, impulsive decision-making, snch as the Equilon Anacortes accident. Also, the Chernobyl accident was partly attribntable to operators who impulsively sought to bend the rules in order to complete a test. (A further, personal example of an ill-considered msh to action is desalbed in Appendix 1.)... 

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