Diver entrapment
- Safety Flash
- Published on 5 March 2009
- Generated on 18 May 2026
- IMCA SF 03/09
- 1 minute read
A Member has reported an incident wherein a diver became trapped by a water jet weight coat removal (WCR) tool, which he was attempting to secure to a twenty inch subsea pipeline.
What happened
The WCR tool had been landed directly onto the pipeline, rather than the seabed as had been originally planned. During operations to secure the WCR tool, the tool moved on the pipeline, trapping the diver.
An airbag was attached to the WCR tool and inflated to allow the WCR tool to rotate on the pipeline and free the diver.
The diver was freed without sustaining any injury.
What were the causes?
The resulting investigation identified the immediate cause of the incident being the failure to adhere to the prescribed task plan/operational risk assessment, with underlying causes identified as follows:
- The management of change procedure was not followed.
- There was a lack of understanding of possible hazards related to positioning of the WCR tool.
- The task plan was not followed.
- The risk was not fully assessed.
Lessons learnt
Members are reminded about the importance of:
- following procedures
- taking time out for safety, and
- following management of change procedures.
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