New suits shown off at offshore safety conference

The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) held its first Safety Conference and Exhibition in St. John's on Thursday.

The conference was focused around safety issues in the offshore oil and gas industry. Safety has been an important topic in Newfoundland and Labrador since the crash of Cougar Flight 491, which claimed the lives of 17 people when it went down in 2009 while transporting people to offshore oil fields.

Front and centre at the conference was the presentation of new safety suits, which come from the inquiry launched following the Cougar crash.

Workers had complainedthe old suits were bulky and uncomfortable. Those suits will be retired in the next few months as the new ones are phased in.

Robert Wells, who ledthe commission looking at offshore safety, pushed for the new suits as part of his recommendations.

"I'm thinking that the new suit is going to be a lot better," said Wells.

"The old suits were so heavy, the material and everything, that when you got in them you could hardly move, and that's a drawback."

The new suits are customized specifically for the industry in Newfoundland and Labrador, with more than 30 sizes to fit all body types.

The new boots are made of neoprene and don't have aggressive tread, and there's now a neck seal on the suits in case the one on the hoods don't work, all recommendations that came out of the inquiry.

The new suits cost about $5,000, and the board plans to buy two thousand of them for offshore use.

The suits are just one of 29 recommendations to come out of the Cougar inquiry.

Looking to improve

One of the key demands, to have an independent safety regulator separate from the offshore petroleum board, still hasn't been met. The Newfoundland and Labrador government supports the recommendation, but the federal government does not.

Despite that,Wells is optimistic that the inquiry isresulting in safer practices for Canada's offshore oil workers.

"We learn from each other, the things that we need to learn," he said.

"We are, in my opinion, in the most dangerous waters in the world for offshore development, and we have to take precautions that you don't in the tropics."

Offshore workers are currently being fitted with the new safety suits, and they will start being worn in April 2015.