Executive Order on Registration and Notification of Accidents etc. in connection with Offshore Oil and Gas Operations etc.

The following shall be laid down pursuant to section 3(3), sections 49 and 52(1), section 52a, section 69a(1) and (3) and section 72(1) of the Offshore Safety Act, cf. Consolidated Act no. 831 of 1 July 2015:

1.-(1) This Executive Order shall apply to offshore oil and gas operations as defined in section 3(1), no. 16 of the Offshore Safety Act.

(2) This Executive Order shall also apply to operations pertaining to an installation or connected infrastructure, cf. section 3(1), nos. 1 and 29 of the Offshore Safety Act provided that the operations are covered by the Act on the Use of the Danish Subsoil, and if these operations carry health and safety risks.

2.-(1) For the purposes of this Executive Order:

1. "Accident" shall mean: An accident pursuant to section 6 of the Danish Workers’ Compensation Act.
2. "Occupational diseases" shall mean: Occupational diseases pursuant to section 7(1) of the Workers' Compensation Act.
3. "Incapable of work" shall mean: That the person injured is unable to fully perform his or her ordinary work.
4. "Near miss" shall mean: An incident which could have led to an accident or injury of importance to health and safety at the installation.
5. "Employer liable to take out insurance " shall mean: Any employer who has the obligation to insure workers pursuant to section 48 of the Workers' Compensation Act.

(2) Pursuant to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) no. 1112/2014 of 13 October 2014, cf. Annex 3:

1. "Accidents which are not major accidents" shall mean: Accidents, cf. subsection (1), no. 1
2. "Major accidents" shall mean: Major accidents, cf. section 3(1), no. 28 of the Offshore Safety Act.
3. "Competent authority" shall mean: The Danish Working Environment Authority (Danish WEA).
4. "Safety and environmental critical element" shall mean: Safety and environmental critical element as defined in section 3(1), no. 25 of the Offshore Safety Act.
5. "Serious injury" shall mean: Serious personal injury, cf. Annex 1.
6. "Major environmental incident" shall mean: Major environmental incident as defined in section 3(1), no. 27 of the Offshore Safety Act.

3.-(1) The operator and the owner, respectively, shall register information about the following:

1. Any accident.
2. Any fatality.
3. Any discharge of hydrocarbons.
4. Any incident, which has or could have led to the discharge of a biological agent, which has caused or is assessed to be likely to cause diseases in humans, following an assessment of the health and safety risks pursuant to the Executive Order on Protection from Exposure to Biological Agents relating to Offshore Oil and Gas Operations etc.
5. Any unintended discharge of substances and materials which has caused, or is assessed to be likely to cause fatalities or diseases in humans, following an assessment of health and safety risks under the Executive Order on Use of Substances and Materials on Offshore Oil and Gas Operations.
6. Any not insignificant damage of importance to health and safety to the construction or equipment of the installation.
7. Any evacuation of staff.
8. Any near miss.
9. Any incident with vessels on a collision path and cases of collisions between vessels and an installation.

(2) Registration shall be made digitally or in hard copy in a manner which is available to the Danish WEA.

(3) Registration shall include information which enables the operator and the owner to use such information to prevent repetition of incidents, as mentioned in subsection (1).

(4) The safety organisation of the installation shall have access to the information in the registration to the extent that this is important for health and safety.

4.-(1) The employer liable to take out insurance shall notify any accident causing:

1. fatality or
2. that the injured person is rendered incapable of work for one day or more in addition to the day the accident occurred.

(2) Notification pursuant to subsection (1) shall be made digitally to the Danish WEA through the EASY joint notification system of the National Board of Industrial Injuries and the Danish WEA, cf. however, subsection (3).

(3) The requirement in subsection (2) on the use of EASY shall not apply to foreign employers liable to take out insurance which do not have a Danish business registration number (CVR number). Foreign employers liable to take out insurance which do not have a Danish business registration number shall notify digitally in a manner which can be accessed by the Danish WEA in accordance with further instructions.

(4) Notification pursuant to subsection (1) shall, as a minimum, include the information specified in Annex 2.

(5) Employers liable to take out insurance shall, upon request from the Danish WEA, submit supplementary information about the duration in which the injured person was incapable of work, cf. subsection (1), no. 2.

(6) Notification pursuant to subsection (1) shall be made to the Danish WEA as soon as possible and within ten working days after the day of the incident enclosing a copy for the operator or the owner, respectively, if these are not the employer liable to take out insurance.

(7) The injured person shall be handed a copy of the notification pursuant to subsection (1), no. 2.

(8) The operator and the owner, respectively, shall grant access to the safety organisation of the facility to notifications pursuant to subsection (1).

(9) Documents which are submitted digitally to the Danish WEA by the employer liable to take out insurance in connection with notification of industrial accidents etc. shall be provided with a digital signature with a security level corresponding to the OCES standard applicable or higher.

(10) The Danish WEA may decide to process a document submitted digitally, even if said document is not provided with a digital signature, cf. subsection (9).

5.-(1) The operator and the owner, respectively, shall also notify the following:

1. Any near miss that could have caused 
a) fatality, 
b) an accident with resulting serious personal injury, cf. Annex 1, or 
c) danger to the integrity of the installation.

2. Any incident, which has or could have led to the discharge of a biological agent, and which has caused or is assessed to be likely to cause diseases in humans, following an assessment of the health and safety risks pursuant to the Executive Order on Protection from Exposure to Biological Agents relating to Offshore Oil and Gas Operations etc.

3. Any unintended discharge of substances and materials which has caused, or is assessed to be likely to cause fatalities or diseases in humans, following an assessment of the health and safety risks under the Executive Order on Use of Substances and Materials on Offshore Oil and Gas Operations.

(2) Notification pursuant to subsection (1) shall be made to the Danish WEA as soon as possible and within ten working days after the day of the incident.

(3) The operator and the owner, respectively, shall grant access to the safety organisation of the facility to notifications pursuant to subsection (1).

(4) Notification pursuant to subsection (1) shall be made digitally to the Danish WEA.

6. The operator and the owner, respectively, shall notify, in accordance the joint reporting format, the incidents with attaching information included in Annex I, types of incident A-F and I, to the Commission Implementation Regulation (EU) no. 1112/2014 of 13 October 2014, cf. Annex 3.

7. Enterprises registered in Denmark and which themselves, or through subsidiary companies, carry out offshore oil and gas operations outside the EU, as licensees or operators shall, upon request from the Danish WEA, submit information regarding major accidents outside the EU, cf. section 52b(1) of the Offshore Safety Act.

8.-(1) The operator and the owner, respectively, shall immediately telephone or in another manner notify the Police Department of South Jutland, which then notifies the Danish WEA about the following:

1. Any fatality having occurred at the installation.
2. Any accident which has led to serious personal injury, cf. Annex 1.
3. Any accident or other incident which leads to the acute taking ashore of one or several persons.

(2) The operator and the owner, respectively, shall immediately telephone or in another manner notify the Danish WEA about the following:

1. Unintended discharge of oil or gas which leads to fire or explosions.
2. Unintended discharge of not ignited natural gas or evaporated associated gas, if the mass discharged is greater than or equal to 1 kg.
3. Discharge of non-ignited liquids of crude oil where the mass discharged is greater than or equal to 60 kg.
4. Any incident which may have led to discharge of a biological agent, cf. section 5(1), no. 2.
5. Any unintended discharge of substances and materials, cf. section 5(1), no. 3.
6. Any significant damage of importance to health and safety to the construction or equipment of the installation.
7. Any uncontrolled emissions from a well, regardless of the duration.
8. Helicopter accidents at or near the installation.
9. Any unplanned emergency evacuation of some or all persons on board due to a major accident or if there is a significant risk of such accident.

(3) The operator and the owner, respectively, shall immediately telephone or in another corresponding manner notify the Danish WEA about any near miss which could have caused fatalities or a danger to the integrity of the installation, cf. section 5(1), no. 1a and c.

(4) The operator and the owner, respectively, shall, in the situations mentioned in subsection (1), leave the place of the incident untouched and sealed off, unless otherwise decided by the Police, or unless preventing imminent or immediate danger necessitates otherwise.

(5) The operator and the owner, respectively, shall, as soon as possible, after ascertaining the incidents mentioned in subsections (1)-(3), notify the safety organisation of the installation about the incident.

(6) Subsequent notification pursuant to section 4(6) and section 5(2) of the incidents mentioned in subsections (1)-(3) shall be accompanied by a statement on follow-up to the incident by the operator, owner or other employers, including a description of the course of the incident and information about the measures which have been or will be taken as a consequence of the incident to prevent repetitions, cf. however, subsection (7).

(7) Subsequent notification pursuant to section 6 of the incidents mentioned in subsection (2), nos. 1-3 and 5-8, shall be made pursuant to Annex I to the Commission Implementation Regulation (EU) no. 1112/2014 of 13 October 2014, cf. Annex 3.

9.-(1) Physicians and dentists who, through their occupation, find or suspect that a person has sustained an ascertained or presumed occupational illness in connection with offshore oil and gas operations shall notify this to the Danish WEA and the National Board of Industrial Injuries pursuant to the provisions in this respect in the Executive Order regarding the Duty of Physicians and Dentists to Notify Occupational Illnesses to the Danish WEA and the National Board of Industrial Injuries, as issued by the Ministry of Employment.

(2) In addition, physicians who, through their occupation, find or suspect that a person has been exposed to harmful influences in connection with offshore oil and gas operations etc. shall notify this to the Danish WEA and the National Board of Industrial Injuries.

10.-(1) The operator, the owner and other employers shall, upon request from the Danish WEA, provide information to the Danish WEA for use in statistical calculations of accidents or near misses, including calculation of the number of discharges of hydrocarbons not covered by the duty of notification under section 5(1).

11.-(1) The operator and the owner, respectively, shall notify major accidents to the Accident Investigation Board as well as any other incident leading to the death of one to four persons on-board the offshore installation at which the source of the danger arises, or who carry out an oil and gas operation in connection with the installation or connected infrastructure, cf. the Executive Order on the Accident Investigation Board for Major Accidents in connection with Offshore Oil and Gas Operations etc.

(2) The notification shall be accompanied by a statement describing the accident and its course as well as the immediate reasons for this.

12.-(1) Anyone violating section 3, section 4(1)-(8), sections 5-9 or 11 shall be liable to a fine, unless more severe penalty is due under the Offshore Safety Act or other legislation.

(2) For violation of the provisions of subsection (1), within the frameworks of section 71 of the Offshore Safety Act, the employer may be subject to a fine, notwithstanding the fact that the violation cannot be attributed to the employer as intentional or negligent. A condition for the individual employer being subject to a fine is that the violation can be attributed to one or more persons attached to the enterprise, or the enterprise as such. No imprisonment shall be determined in lieu of a fine.

(3) Companies etc. (legal persons) may be subject to criminal liability according to the provisions in chapter 5 of the Criminal Code.

13.-(1) This Executive Order shall enter into force on 1 November 2015.

(2) This Executive Order shall apply to accidents, other incidents as well as presumed or ascertained occupational illnesses and dangerous influences occurring or ascertained on the day of entry into force or later.

(3) Executive Order no. 1083 of 5 September 2013 on registration and notification of industrial injuries etc. pursuant to the Offshore Safety Act shall be repealed.

14.-(1) Section 6, section 7 and section 8(7) shall apply from and including 19 July 2016 for operators planning or carrying out well operations and to owners of planned production installations and pipelines and operators of planned production installations and connected infrastructure not authorised pursuant to section 28 of the Safety etc. for Offshore Installations for Exploration, Production and Transportation of Hydrocarbons Act, cf. Consolidating Act no. 520 of 13 May 2013, as of 19 July 2015.

(2) Sections 6, 7 and 8(7) shall apply from and including 19 July 2018 for installations and connected infrastructure for which an operating permit has been granted pursuant to section 28 of the Safety etc. for Offshore Installations for Exploration, Production and Transportation of Hydrocarbons Act, cf. Consolidating Act no. 520 of 13 May 2013 before to 19 July 2015.

The Ministry of Employment, 9 October 2015

Jørn Neergaard Larsen / Nanna Møller