Odfjell Drilling's Deepsea Atlantic semisubmersible went off hire on 18 April 2026 after an equipment handling incident at the Rosebank field west of Shetland. The rig's blowout preventer dropped to the seabed at a depth of about 1,100 meters while it was being run into the water. No personnel were injured, and the incident had no impact on the rig's own integrity.
In its first-quarter 2026 results, Odfjell Drilling estimated three to four months before the rig would be ready to resume operations. The company said insurance is expected to cover recovery, replacement or repair of the damaged equipment.
The cause of the incident remained under investigation as of the report. Odfjell Drilling said it is working with equipment manufacturers to carry out the measures and lessons that come out of that investigation.
About the rig
The Deepsea Atlantic is a sixth-generation semisubmersible built in 2009. It is under contract to Equinor through the end of the second quarter of 2027, and it has been deployed on the Rosebank development. The first phase of that development includes:
- Four production wells
- Three water injection wells
- Two plug-and-abandonment wells
