EPOL Group: Offshore Death/Missing Person(s)

The Notification of Offshore Death / Missing Person form is a Police Scotland document required as part of the next of kin notification process.  It has been produced in collaboration with the EPOL Group for specific use in reporting deaths or missing persons offshore.

Jurisdiction

The form should be used to report deaths or missing persons offshore from installations/vessels operating within the UK Continental Shelf in the Central and Northern North Sea, north of the latitude 55^o 50' 00'', and West of Shetland (those installations which fall under the jurisdiction of Police Scotland).

An amended version of the Police Scotland form has been adopted by Norfolk and Suffolk Constabularies for use in relation to incidents in the their area of jurisdiction in the Southern North Sea. Norfolk and Suffolk Constabularies provide joint policing services within their area of jurisdiction.

Completing the form

This form allows the reporting of the apparent death or disappearance of up to four persons.  It should be completed by the person in charge (OIM / Master) on board at the location of the deceased or from the location where the missing person has been reported.

Confirmation of the identity of the individual is required.  The word corroborated is used, however, one person is sufficient to confirm identity to allow the NOK notification process to be instigated. 

When the form is being used to report a death, the name of the person who can confirm the identity of the deceased person should be inserted in the relevant 'Person's Identity Corroborated by' fields.  This will usually be the OIM / Master.  If the OIM / Master does not know the deceased person and cannot identify him/her then details of the person confirming the identity should be entered.

A Missing Person is considered to be a person who is missing from muster and cannot be located after all reasonable searches have been concluded. This includes persons who have been or believed to have been lost overboard and are unlikely to be rescued alive.  When reporting a missing person the OIM/Master does not complete and sign the 'Declaration of Death' section of the form.  In these circumstances the OIM / Master completes and signs the 'Person's Identity Corroborated by' field as confirmation.

If a person is lost overboard and a dead body is recovered from the sea by the ERRV or other vessel and cannot be identified by the vessel crew then the OIM / Master completes the form in respect of a Missing Person.

Declaration of Death

The "declaration of death" box confirms the opinion of the Offshore Medic and OIM/Master that 'no vital signs of life' (NVS) are present and the individual identified is apparently dead. Formal certification of death will be done at a later stage by a registered doctor or pathologist.

The OIM / Master and Medic are required to sign the form to authenticate the declaration of NVS. Electronic signatures cannot be used.
 

Delivery of the Form to Police Scotland

The form is a direct communication between the OIM / Master and Police Scotland and not a communication between the OIM / Master and the Company's Onshore Emergency Response Room / Incident Management Team as sometimes assumed.  The destinations where the form should be sent have been prioritised as follows:

1. If an Incident Liaison Officer (ILO) has been deployed to the ERR / IMT then the completed form should be emailed as a PDF attachment or faxed there.  As the ERR Coordinator / IMT Leader will already be aware of the declaration of 'no vital signs of life' the form should be handed directly to the ILO who will deal with all aspects of the police process thereafter
2. If the ERR / IMT is not in operation or an ILO has not been deployed there then the form should be emailed as a PDF attachment to the Police Scotland North Area Control Room, Dundee using the email address C3DivisionNorthOverview@scotland.pnn.police.uk  or
3. Faxed to the Police Scotland North Area Control Room, Dundee using the fax number 01382 200449.