Petrofac invests in second freefall to meet training demand

Leading energy industry training provider, Petrofac has taken delivery of its second freefall lifeboat.

The company has invested £200,000 in the new model to meet increased demand for its industry-accredited marine training courses.

Petrofac is the only company in the UK with a freefall boat for oil and gas industry training, and earlier this year launched its current freefall for the 3,000th time in five years.

Designed and manufactured by Dutch company Verhoef, the freefall lifeboat is located at Petrofac’s Marine Training Centre in Aberdeen. The world-class training facility, which has direct access to Aberdeen harbour, provides delegates with a safe and ‘real life’ training environment, with Petrofac’s experts delivering practical training using industry-recognised equipment.

There are only three other Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation (OPITO) approved providers worldwide.

George Masson, Petrofac’s Safety and Survival Team Lead, said: “With the addition of the new freefall, we now have a total of 15 vessels which we use to deliver a full range of marine-specific training.

“Investing in this new model shows our continued commitment to delivering high-quality training to our clients in the UK energy industry.

“Nothing beats launching and maneuvering a freefall boat in real sea conditions and so the experience our delegates get with our freefalls is as close to real life as it can be.

“That said, we also have our fast rescue craft which we use in our training pool, allowing us to create specific emergency evacuation scenarios.

“By being able to offer customers both, we can provide a really robust, comprehensive and lifelike training experience.”

Mr Masson also explained how the additional freefall would help with current social distancing practices in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He continued: “Previously we would have been able to train six delegates with one freefall, but that number has now been reduced to three. With two models, both of which can be operated at the same time, we can still run courses with similar numbers as before.”

Petrofac’s training courses are delivered to rigorous industry standards with accreditation coming from OPITO and the International Marine Organisation (IMO). Courses offered include: Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats; Fast Rescue Craft Coxswain; Command and Control for Masters and Mates; and Offshore Lifeboat Coxswain Twinfall.

Petrofac has been setting standards and delivering safety, survival, marine and emergency management training to the global energy industry for more than 40 years.

Read the latest issue of the OGV Energy magazine HERE.