Urgent HSE Safety Notice Regarding Offshore Gangways: Actions Required for Offshore Renewables Operators

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On 8 August 2025, The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published a safety notice and press release flagging “potentially fatal” risks when motion‑compensated gangways retract without warning due to power failures or control‑system errors. HSE’s line is clear: if your gangway cannot provide sufficient advance warning before auto‑retraction, stop using it until controls are installed. This applies across oil & gas and offshore renewables.

The bulletin (ED03‑2025) spells out the problem and the fix. Unplanned retraction is a foreseeable risk; audible/visual alarms that trigger at the same time as retraction do not count as a warning. HSE requires technical risk assessment of all automatic functions and insists control logic must only allow auto‑retraction when personnel are confirmed safe. Manual overrides by operators need rigorous risk assessment.

Trade press followed with the same message: review your gangway arrangements and remove any system that can retract without clear pre‑warning. Industry good practice (e.g., walk‑to‑work guidance cited by HSE) emphasizes sufficient audible/visual alarms and time for people to reach safety before disconnection.

Why is the risk exposure rising in the North Sea?

This alert lands as the UK North Sea prepares for extreme‑weather and security drills over the coming months, a scenario that can multiply personnel‑transfer operations and stress test gangway reliability. More transfers in tighter weather windows mean more exposure hours on MCGs—right when resilience is being tested.

At the same time, regulators are tuning the broader safety framework. OMAR (the UK’s Offshore Major Accident Regulator) recently updated reporting guidance and continues to require incident notifications via the consolidated ROGI process—important if a gangway event occurs offshore.

Across the EU, the latest Seveso III implementation report shows an overall improvement in industrial safety and fewer major accidents on average. That’s welcome—but it doesn’t reduce your duty to act on a specific, well-understood hazard like gangway auto‑retraction. One serious fall from height is one too many.

The human factor: safety starts in the head

Hardware and software are only half the story. Human performance under pressure is the other. When operators face ambiguous alarms, inconsistent procedures, or time pressure during transfers, cognitive load spikes—and minor lapses can cascade into incidents. Our mantra is simple: Safety starts in the head. Building workforce resilience is risk insurance against the errors that slip through even well-designed systems.

We’ve seen the same pattern in other high-hazard transitions: when technology or procedures are new (e.g., alternative fuels), crew vigilance and mental load rise sharply. If training and communication don’t keep pace, risk goes up even when equipment meets spec. The fix is an integrated approach that couples technical barriers with behavioral and psychosocial readiness.

Immediate actions for duty holders (practical checklist)

Here’s a concise, operations-ready checklist aligned with HSE’s ED03‑2025 and our Plan–Communicate–Act–Debrief–Improve model used in safety leadership programs:

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Plan

1. Identify scope: Inventory all MCGs used on your assets and by contractors; map auto‑retraction logic and failure modes.

2. Risk assess automatic functions: Confirm auto-retraction occurs only when personnel are safe; document proof (e.g., FMEA, test records).

3. Define “adequate warning” in practice: Establish the time, distance, and cues required for a person to clear the hazard; alarms must trigger before retraction.

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Communicate

4. Briefs and toolbox talks: Standardize pre‑transfer briefings covering retraction scenarios, abort criteria, and operator roles.

5. Visual communication: Label control panels and access points with simple, unambiguous status cues and emergency steps.

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‍Act

6. Take non‑compliant MCGs out of service pending engineering changes (alarms, interlocks, logic updates).

7. Operator drills: Practice “warning received” responses—freeze, step back, brace, or return to platform—until automatic.

8. Override governance: Treat manual overrides as a change requiring explicit criteria, sign‑offs, and live supervision.

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Debrief

9. Near miss capture: Log all alarm events, failed warnings, or aborted crossings; debrief immediately to extract lessons.

10. ROGI readiness: Validate who files what, to whom, and when if a reportable incident occurs offshore.

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Improve

11. Engineering upgrades: Add or re‑time alarms; implement logic to verify “gangway clear” before auto‑retraction; test against credible failure modes.

12. Human performance: Refresh training on situational awareness, high‑risk communication, and stress management to reduce slips and lapses during transfers.

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Where many teams stumble (and how to fix it fast)?

· Ambiguity over “adequate warning.” If your warning sounds or lights with retraction, it’s already too late. Define and test a lead time under realistic conditions (night, noise, weather).

· Over-reliance on hero operators. Manual overrides are a last line, not a primary control. Treat them as a controlled exception with tight criteria.

· Inconsistent briefings. Transfer teams often rotate across assets and contractors. Standardize pre-task talks and cross‑checks (“MOVE – Monitor, Observe, Verify, Execute”).

· Cognitive overload. Long hitches, harsh weather, and high-stakes schedules degrade decision-making. Build mental resilience and behavior-based safety habits so the correct actions become automatic.

How Health4Wind helps you close the gap?—quickly

You already invest in equipment, permits, and procedures. We build the other side of safety: the mental architecture and team behaviors that keep those systems working under pressure. Our programs are onsite, modular, and aligned with international standards, so you can deploy them quickly where risk is highest:

· Leadership in Safety Solutions – Plan–Communicate–Act–Debrief–Improve for supervisors and OIMs, with live simulations for transfer operations.

· Communication for Safety – High-risk communication drills for bridge, deck, and vessel teams during walk-to-work operations.

· Behavior-Based Safety (Frontline) – Habit‑building for safe actions under time pressure; near-miss storytelling that sticks.

· Mental Resilience Program – Practical tools for managing stress, maintaining vigilance, and avoiding cognitive slips during repeated transfers. Mental resilience is risk insurance.

Our stance is unapologetically direct: If you think you don’t need this, think again. Falls from height are unforgiving—and so are headlines. Let’s reduce exposure now, before weather windows tighten and transfer volumes climb.

If you operate or charter vessels with motion‑compensated gangways in the North Sea, action is required now. We’ll map your transfer risk in 30 minutes and show exactly where to harden barriers—technical and human—before the next crew steps onto the gangway. Because safety starts in the head.

Resources

Health and Safety Executive. (2025, August 8). HSE issues urgent offshore gangway safety notice [Press release]. https://press.hse.gov.uk/2025/08/08/hse-issues-urgent-offshore-gangway-safety-notice/

Health and Safety Executive. (2025, August 8). Motion Compensated Gangways Auto‑retraction (ED03‑2025) [Safety notice]. https://www.hse.gov.uk/safetybulletins/motion-compensated-gangways-auto-retraction.htm

Foxwell, D. (2025, August 13). HSE issues second safety notice about gangway risks on offshore vessels. Riviera Maritime Media. https://www.rivieramm.com/news-content-hub/news-content-hub/hse-issues-second-safety-notice-about-gangways-on-offshore-vessels-85781

Conan, R. (2025, September 25). UK North Sea set for extreme weather and security drills. Upstream. https://www.upstreamonline.com/energy-security/uk-north-sea-set-for-extreme-weather-and-security-drills/2-1-1875732

Health and Safety Executive. (2025, August 15). Reporting incidents to the Offshore Major Accident Regulator (OMAR). https://www.hse.gov.uk/offshore/omar/incidents-to-omar.htm

European Commission, Directorate‑General for Environment. (2025, September 19). Seveso III Implementation Report: European industrial safety improved.https://environment.ec.europa.eu/news/seveso-report-european-industrial-safety-improved-2025-09-19_en

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