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North Sea experience puts CHC on the agenda at global harsh weather summit

LEADING offshore helicopter services provider CHC Helicopter will share its experience of operating in the challenging North Sea environment at a global rescue services conference in the Netherlands later this month.

UK Search & Rescue (SAR) manager Ian McLuskie will present a paper at the fifth annual Harsh Weather Summit in Maastricht on May 31- 1 June.

The event will see hundreds of senior aviation, maritime and coastguard representatives from around the world gather to discuss this year’s theme: Discovering the next Arctic frontiers.

The Summit aims to address technology challenges and promote best practices for developing/upgrading harsh weather offshore bases. The key geographical focus will be on the Yamal Peninsula, Kazakhstan; Greenland Chukchi Sea and the Canadian Arctic.

Mr McLuskie will discuss helicopter operations in harsh environments and will look at how the experience gained by CHC on SAR helicopter operations in the North Atlantic and off the Norwegian Coast can be applied to operations in the sea areas beyond the Arctic Circle.

He said: “CHC has a strong history of providing world-class services whilst operating in some of the harshest offshore conditions on the planet, including Canada’s East Coast, Kazakhstan and the Arctic. Our unparalleled safety culture makes us the recognized world leader in offshore helicopter operations and we have made significant investments in our fleet in terms of new-technology aircraft, our crews, training and technical support to ensure a modern-day helicopter service that is able to cope in all weather conditions.

“This conference is a unique opportunity for operators around the world to share best practice and discuss the issues facing our industry.”

Based in Aberdeen, CHC operates a combined fleet of more than 250 medium and heavy helicopters in over 30 countries across the world. It supports offshore exploration and production projects in a large array of challenging environments throughout the world, as well as providing civilian Search and Rescue and emergency medical services.

The company’s SAR expertise was reinforced in 2010 when the Irish Government awarded CHC a 10-year contract to provide SAR services on behalf of the Irish Coast Guard.

The event is being staged by EnergyWise, a specialist in organizing technology summits for the upstream and midstream sector.

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