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Storm Imogen Disrupts Shipping, Damages Oil Platform

RNLI
Image courtesy RNLI

Published Feb 9, 2016 7:25 PM by The Maritime Executive

North Sea Storm Imogen disrupted maritime operations across the North Sea on February 8. The storm's high winds and waves prompted the evacuation of non-essential crew from Shell's Brent Bravo platform, forced a Dublin-bound ferry to seek refuge off the coast of Devon, and caused further damage to a shipwreck off the coast of Belgium. The meteorological station at Fastnet Rock registered gusts of up to 120 knots and sustained hurricane force winds off the Atlantic coast of Ireland.

Offshore Scotland, Storm Imogen caused structural damage to Shell's inactive Brent Bravo rig, and Shell UK was forced to evacuate forty crew to each of the Brent Delta and Brent Charlie platforms. A Shell spokesman said that the firm “can confirm that an incident occurred on Sunday evening on its Brent Bravo platform, located approximately 115 miles north east of Lerwick. Personnel on the platform were called to muster following damage to one of the structure’s legs. As a precaution, all non-essential personnel were moved to other nearby Brent platforms.” The evacuation is the latest in a series of storm-related incidents on North Sea oil platforms and semi-submersibles.

Separately, over 100 passengers on Irish Ferries' ro/pax Epsilon had to wait for their France-to-Ireland journey to resume after the vessel was forced to divert and seek shelter off the UK coast. Passengers were provided with meals during the wait, and no injuries were reported. The prevailing Force 11 winds and heavy seas abated, and she resumed her journey and has arrived at Dublin.

Off the coast of Belgium, the wrecked general cargo vessel Flinterstar suffered additional damage due to Storm Imogen, said E.U. Secretary of State for the North Sea Bart Tommelein. He posted a photo on Twitter showing the deteriorating condition of the wreck, which now reportedly has a crane twisted to port.

The Flinterstar sank following a collision with the Marshall Islands-flagged LNG carrier Al-Oraiq in October 2015. All crew were safely evacuated. She awaits salvage; authorities expect that weather conditions will be too rough to remove her wreck until the spring.