IN 1396 – BOSIET/HUET/FOET changes – 26 March 2018

Some of our Members will have recently received a letter from Oil and Gas UK advising of forthcoming changes to the OPITO BOSIET / FOET / HUET training course. It has been noted that these forthcoming changes may cause specific issues for a proportion of your marine personnel.

It has been noted that the current UK Health & Safety Executive (HSE) exemption that permits candidates to participate in the shallow water CA-EBS training element is based on the individual’s possession of a valid fitness to work offshore certificate, issued either by the UK, or by the Norwegian or Dutch authorised bodies.

Oil & Gas UK (OGUK) has initiated discussion with the UK HSE as to whether this exemption could be widened to include seafarers who hold ENG1 certificates instead of fitness to work offshore certificates, as they are aware that a number of contractors may have personnel in this situation. OGUK has advised IMCA that a second exemption will be required, and that, even if a request is successful, it is unlikely to be in place before the implementation date of 26 March 2018. If this exemption is put in place, this would mean that candidates would still have to complete the fitness to train assessment, but would not have to complete an additional, fitness to work offshore, medical.

We are advised by OGUK that they are monitoring this very closely, and that they hope to get the exemption in place. The advice from OGUK to its members, and our advice to our members in the UK, is that you may need to review your situation and establish how many personnel would be affected.

NB this only affects personnel who need to complete or refresh their offshore survival. Personnel with a BOSIET / HUET / FOET valid beyond the middle of this year should not be affected. If the renewal date falls after 26 March 2018, you may be advised to consider bringing refresher training forward before the new training is implemented, or arrange for those personnel affected to complete, as a one off, a full Oil & Gas UK medical (with fitness to train assessment).