Turnkey COVID-19 travel solutions for the offshore industry

SSI Energy, a provider of medical and technical personnel to the energy industry, has partnered with CHC, a global helicopter service company specialising in providing travel to remote and challenging locations, have launched a new partnership in response to the energy industry’s requirements during the COVID-19 crisis.

North Sea platforms provide a bleak and isolated work environment at the best of times, but the additional threat that COVID-19 brings has seen the operations around personnel safety intensify.

Preventing the virus reaching platforms in the North Sea is critical for operations to continue. The SSI-Energy/CHC partnership offers operators a collaborative turnkey solution operating out of Norwich and Aberdeen to mitigate this risk. Screening centres, employing specialist SSI Energy medics, have been set up at airports to reduce the chance of transmitting the disease offshore. Simultaneously, work has been undertaken to address a worse-case scenario – COVID-19 being present on a rig or vessel. CHC can provide specialist COVID-19-adapted helicopters that can pick up infected personnel and bring them back to shore. This operation is supported by SSI Energy medics, who can accompany the helicopter to ensure any COVID-19 patients are given the best possible care.

Photo: SSI Energy/CHC