A North Sea offshore worker lost his life after falling more than 80 feet through fragile flooring inside a crane cab on a jackup drilling rig, according to findings released by the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The incident occurred on November 14, 2025, aboard the Valaris 121 drilling rig, which was operating around 140 miles east of Aberdeen in Shell’s Shearwater field.
The victim, 32-year-old Lee Hulse from Aberdeen, stepped onto an unprotected section of the crane cab floor that had been left exposed after a grating was removed during cleaning work.
The HSE said the removed grating exposed a “fragile surface” external to the crane cab floor.
When Mr Hulse stepped onto this area, the flooring failed, causing him to fall more than 80 feet and sustain fatal injuries. He died just one week after celebrating his birthday and was the father of a young daughter.
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