Offshore Survival course

Taking an offshore survival course could be recommended for anyone seriously considering the possibility to work offshore in oil & gas field. There are lots of available offshore survival courses that differ in duration, so an aspiring offshore Roustabout has from what to choose. To make things simpler, it is in fact the basic program of offshore survival - basic offshore safety and survival training (BOSIET) - that you require for the purposes of an aspiring offshore rig worker. Normally the duration of the basic course doesn't exceed 3 days of lecturing and training. Certification that you get after successfully graduating from BOSIET is valid for 4 years. BOSIET will provide basic knowledge on the offshore safety issues, measures, precautions, and principals & rules of safe behavior on offshore installations, as well as the correct response to the emergencies like fire or crash of helicopter. All staff is being flown to and from offshore oil rigs of all types (jack up platforms, semi-submersibles, drillships etc.) by helicopter only.

To understand why BOSIET course, incorporating HUET, is attached so much importance by oil companies, just remember helicopter crash in the North Sea off the coast of Aberdeen or the fatalities that claimed 11 lives of offshore riggers on the Deepwater Horizon, when the platform experienced a blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.

To the best of our knowledge, there are no offshore survival courses outside oil & gas industry that would be offered free of charge, unless you are already employed.

The enrollees should be ready to pay the price of around £ 800 (approximately $US 1350 or € 970) and pay themselves their accommodation/living expenses. It is also important to realize that the completion of offshore survival course of any type will not necessarily lead to employment, so this is what you do on your own risk. The only privilege you get consists in the fact that by stating in your CV/resumé cover letter that you completed on your own initiative an offshore survival course you signals your potential employers your serious approach and resoluteness to get oil job and hopefully start an exciting career on offshore platforms.

There's a good piece of news, though. Should you become that lucky candidate to break through the selection barriers and get your entry-level offshore job as, say, Roustabout, Painter, Medic, Steward, Galleyhand etc. or grab the other vacancy available for filling, you could ask the company for reimbursement, but only after having worked at least half a year, not less time, and having shown your being good fit for the position you've been appointed to work in aboard offshore oil rig. We never heard of any oil drilling contractor or recruiter who would sponsor, even partially, any of the known offshore survival courses for people outside their company.

Moreover, with recent growth of popularity of the offshore employment among job seekers, offshore survival courses experience real influx of the people wishing to enroll. Therefore it's recommended that would-be offshore riggers, especially those without relevant degree or specialized training, do their own research on the Internet and contact in person the providers of such programs for the details. Be ready to wait several months because of all places in groups being sold out or even to travel to distant location, where offshore survival courses that you need could be available.

According to BP representative, the company runs specialized courses for the retired or dismissed military. Ex-military and in part ex-navy have always been regarded as attractive recruits by offshore drilling companies.

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Some of the providers of offshore survival courses:

• Petrofac Training Services - Forties Road, Montrose, Angus DD10 9ET, Scotland. Offer Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training course (BOSIET), onshore/offshore health and safety course, course on the safe storage and handling of hazardous materials. Their training facilities are located globally, in part in Houston and Louisiana (USA)
• Offshore Survival Courses by Maersk Training in Aberdeen. Can be booked by phone: +44 (0)1224 228148. OPITO approved BOSIET, MIST (Minimum Industry Safety Training), BOSIET + MIST, FOET, Universal Survival, Universal Survival Refresher, HUET (Escape Chute Training Course)
• Survivex Ltd in Aberdeen, provides the training, recognized both in the UK and Norway - BOSIET (formerly known as RGIT), MIST, Norwegian Escape Chute, for booking call 01224 794 800+1
• Falck Safety Services Ltd with training facilities in Aberdeen and Teesside.
• Fleetwood Offshore Survival Center: BOSIET, MIST, EURO, FOET, EURO R, EURO Upgrade, Coxswains Initial, Coxswains Further, Donut Descender, Skyscape, HUET and EBS, NEBOSH Oil and Gas. This center Merchant offers safety & survival courses and other kinds of training both for Merchant Navy and Offshore Oil & Gas Industry
• Offshore Survival Course at Warsash Maritime Academy
• Offshore and Safety Training by South Tyneside College
• McMillan Offshore Survival Training
• Gulf Technical and Safety Training Center offers training that is modified to meet special demands of offshore work in tropics, like T-BOSIET

It may be interesting to know that there is no offshore oil drilling or oil production contractor around the world, who wouldn't insist on completing BOSIET by anyone, regardless of that person's purpose of visiting any type of oil rigging facility, be it oil production platform, drillship, FPSO, MODU. OPITO approved BOSIET normally include the following modules: Safety Induction, Helicopter Safety & Escape, Sea Survival, Firefighting and Self Rescue.

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