IRATA
Good morning,
Here are some images of guy conducting specialist rope access, to inspect and repair the coating to an offshore sub station in the North Sea.
Would you enjoy this type of work? Love to hear your thoughts over on Instagram @lee_ramsden
Thanks,
Lee
Hello,
How are you? Have you had a good week?
Today id like to share some images of a job on Blackpool Tower.
The above image on the left is obviously not one of mine, but wanted to show how things have changed, and thank god that they have.
The guys in the past had little or no working at height protection.
These days we use advanced techniques such as rope access, to access these hard to reach places safely.
I hope that you have a good weekend.
Lee
Hello,
Hope that you are you well.
Today i thought i would show a couple of images of different rope access teams.
The above image, is a technician abseiling down from working at the top of a leg on a jack up oil and gas platform.
These images may look like fun, but an 80m vertical ladder is not. Ha!
Take care and have a good week.
Lee
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Hello,
Radio silence is over, nearly 18 months of not posting, i have an interesting catalogue that i would like to share and update this site with on a fortnightly basis.
Be sure to subscribe to my news letter for future updates.
Newsletters are on a monthly basis, in your inbox on 1st of each month.
No spam just nice images and information about the sites i have been shooting.
The above image is myself as rescue man on an 80 meter high jack up oil rig leg, whilst in dry dock having repairs.
Keep in touch.
Lee
Hello, id like to share some images from another trip working up Blackpool's tower, repairing the illumination lighting at great height.
Arrived to site early and so I walked the long way there. Was surprised to see early morning council worker cleaning the front.
Ropes set, and decent underway. Always told "don't look down" but you have to in this game.
Today repairs ongoing to the heart light.
Sophisticated control gear, power the lighting on the Tower, helps it to change colour and be programmable.
A spectator while working at height.
Thanks for viewing.
Lee
Hello,
Today id like to show some of the IRATA rope access technicians that were involved in the decommissioning of the BP Miller.
Welding on dead weight supports to the risers.
Rope access welder cutting a riser.
Long tiring climb back up.
Rope techs at height happy in their work.
In the UK oil and gas industry, it is a requirement for a standby vessel to be present. These vessels primarily cover helicopter operations and if any work has to be conducted where there is a potential to fail to sea. (known as outboard work). These vessels sit there, day in day out, no matter the weather they provide us with emergency cover and would spring to life and help rescue if the unlikely event ever arose.
Hello,
Today we see another emergency exercise. As you can see in the oil and gas industry we regularly drill and test the emergency response plan.
It is the old adage - fail to prepare, prepare to fail.
It is a legal requirement to have a plan on what to do in an emergency, but does it work?
Testing different scenarios on a regularly basis ensures that the plan works, and keeps the emergency response team skills fresh.
Todays scenario, is in the above image. In this case we are using an inanimate dummy. But it is to practice how to rescue a rope access worker, working under deck.
IRATA rope access technician donning his harness.
The rope access supervisor, using his equipment to haul the pretend casualty up to the deck.
Platform fire team member safely has hands on the practice casualty.
The platform Medic and his first aid team, practice administrating first aid, and using the different types of stretchers required.
Platform medic, coordinates the fire team members on lifting the stretcher and places it into the "frog", to lift the practice casualty from the lower levels of the platform, up to the installation sickbay.
Fire team leader, in communications with the crane operator. They safely lift the practice casualty to the platform sickbay.
The BP Miller, has the tallest flare stack in the North Sea, at 162m high,
(4m taller than Blackpool tower)
Caught our breath back, after a lung busted 15 ladder climb.
Image of the Brae Bravo platform, from the top of BP Miller flare.
Have you ever wondered, - how do they maintain the iconic lights on Blackpool Tower?
Well meet Wez Berry, the lighting engineer that looks after the famous Blackpool Tower and regularly abseils 518 ft down the iconic landmark, to ensure its computer-operated 225,000 LED bulbs are in working order.
The day starts early to catch the lift to the top.
Wez's workplace has a view like no other.
“You're your own boss up here, You can crack on and do your own work.”
The location is extremely weather dependent, with extreme winds and rain meaning it simply isn't safe to scale the Tower's dizzy heights.
“If the weather's nice, we're on, and I'll work through weekends and bank holidays,”
“The wind really does restrict us and you have to look at the forecast very carefully."
“You've got to come into work safe and go home safe – it's very much safety first and I always have a rope access supervisor in case anything happens to me up there."
"We work closely with CJIS-LTD who provide the highly trained rope access supervisors who manage the working at height, utilising IRATA techniques"
Wez -"we're working off 100 metre ropes. It doesn't scare me because whether its 20 feet or 500 feet there's no messing about and you've got to give it the same respect.”
Even when the lighting engineer is at home, he can see the Tower from his back window and he'll often get a call from work mates asking him to check on the lights.
“Plus everyone round here knows what I do, they love to criticise and tell me if they see a light out,”.
The tallest light fitting in Lancashire.
The top is a mecca for tourists, who flock to the terrifying glass floor known as the SkyWalk. Often, they will catch a glimpse of Wez hanging underneath.
To illustrate just how high todays worksite was.
For more information on how to conduct working at height safely please use the contacts page.
If you are or interested in becoming a rope access technician or require additional training i can recommend this training venue Based in Blackpool.
Thanks
Lee
Fuji X-T1 F4 1/125 ISO1600
A few images taken from a recent trip offshore on the Talisman Auk platform in the North sea.
Fuji X-T1 F7.1 1/125 ISO1600
Fuji XT-1 F5.0 1/125 ISO1600
Fuji X-T1 F1.8 1/125 ISO1600
Fuji X-T1 F1.8 ISO1600
Fuji X-T1 F1.4 1/125 ISO1600
Talisman Auk Platform – Inside a 40-Year-Old North Sea Oil Rig
The Auk Oilfield sits 249 kilometres east-southeast of Aberdeen in the UK sector of the North Sea, in 182 metres of water. Originally operated by Shell UK in partnership with ESSO, the field was acquired by Talisman Energy in 2006. Production first started in December 1975 from the Auk 'A' platform — a steel eight-legged jacket designed by Shell and constructed at Methil in Fife, Scotland. The jacket weighs 3,414 tonnes and supports a topside weight of around 8,000 tonnes.
Drawing courtesy of google images
By the time these photographs were taken, the platform was approaching its 40th year of operation. That history shows in the structure — worn surfaces, layered pipework, and accommodation that belongs to a different era of North Sea development.
Getting There
Access was by helicopter from Aberdeen, departing from the Bristow terminal. The flight out gives you the first sense of scale — a small steel structure surrounded by open water, then suddenly filling the window as you come in to land.
Our transport to the platform, ready for action.
Working Offshore — Permit to Work
Photography offshore is tightly controlled for good reason. Every task requires a permit to work, and any work near potential ignition sources requires gas testing with a calibrated detector. That process keeps everyone safe and keeps the operation running — it also means any images taken are genuinely earned rather than snapped casually.
Rope Access Operations
Several of the images show IRATA-trained rope access technicians working at height — climbing to work fronts, carrying out electrical inspections, and accessing areas of the platform that would otherwise require scaffolding. The SKN Electrical team on this rotation were using rope access throughout, keeping the work efficient and the footprint small.
Platform Life
The accommodation on a 40-year-old platform reflects its age — functional, compact, and lived-in. Between shifts, the crew room and bunks are the reset point before another 12-hour day. There's a particular kind of quiet offshore that doesn't exist anywhere else.
One final note on the name: the Auk field is named after the auk family of seabirds. There's a long-standing story that the field was originally going to be called A UK — as the first British oilfield — until someone pointed out that the sixth field in the sequence would be called F UK. Shell rapidly moved to a seabird naming policy. Their sixth UK oilfield is called Fulmar.
For more photography from offshore oil and gas projects, visit the Oil & Gas portfolio.
Off shift movie time.
40 year old ensuite rooms.
Bunks fit for a king.
Please feel free to share this post on your social media, giving credit to the photographer Lee Ramsden www.leeramsden.com
Thanks, Lee
Big apologies for not having a post for some time now,
with work, the new house and the baby, my hands are pretty busy,
but i couldn't be happier.
I am planning a trip to the Brecon Beacons in the near future, which i am super excited about,
Here are some images i snapped on a recent rope access course. I was refreshing my IRATA Level 3's ticket and so was in for a weeks beasting!!
I can highly recommended the training over at
C&J training in Blackpool. The training centre comes under the Talon umbrella and John is a great trainer there.
It was an informative week. I understand a few of you are photographers. This post has no relevance to you?
But ask your self - How many times are you at work, and at height? up step ladders? on roofs? hanging out of a window? I know even you wedding photographers are guilty of this. This course is not for you, but take some time and look at the working at height guidelines. Hurting yourself is just not worth it. no work - no cash right?
Say your assistant takes a tumble, your insurance will turn their back if nothing is in place. Say good bye to your business, once you pay out the court fee's and the settlement.
Here is what the HSE say about it. Thanks for reading.
Here are a few images recently taken from a trip offshore with my little GF1.
Its was over 40 degrees in heat and hanging from a rope out in Azerbaijan in the Caspian sea, on the BP Shah deniz Gas rig.
Here are some images taken at night while offshore at work. These images believe it or not are taken with the Lumix GF1, i would never have been able to have taken these with the Canon G10. The quality is superb!
A self Portrait.
Happy Christmas from Me,
I hope that you are all having a great festive period while im away working.
Catch you in the new year.
Lee
Hello all,
Its has been awhile since my last post. I have been very busy with my job abroad over in Baku - Azerbaijan.
In the last 17 weeks I have been back in the UK less then 2 weeks and so i have been run off my feet.
After new year i will be on a rota and have more time off which is good news,
Here are a few images from being offshore over in Baku. The images were taken on my Canon G10.
Azerbaijan on the world map
