Norwegian Oil Rig Evacuated as Leak Causes Tilt
As a Norwegian oil rig begins to tilt, 326 employees escape to land.
Hundreds of employees were evacuated from an oil rig off the coast of Norway yesterday. Nearly 330 people were removed from state-owned Statoil rig wen a leak was discovered in one the ballast tanks and the rig began to tilt.
The rig, named Njord A, lies approximately 50 nautical miles off the coast of Norway. It has been closed to repair the leak that is thought to have been caused by a collision with an anchor.
Other ballast tanks were partially flooded to match the height of the tank with the leak and the rig was stabilized.
This leak was not the only problem. Waves were as high as 40 feet, but the evacuation was successfully completed. Forty-eight people with emergency duties stayed on board the rig. Those evacuated were taken by helicopters to shore.