Suncor fined $90,000 over the Terra Nova incident in 2019

CBC News noted that the incident occurred on December 29, 2019, when a Suncor employee fell from a ladder while conducting gas testing in a tank on the Terra Nova. The employee suffered injuries the company described as “non-life-threatening,” including a head injury and multiple fractures that required surgery and several weeks of hospitalization.

The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB), which regulates the province's oil industry, detailed the allegations in a statement released Thursday. Suncor was fined $45,000 for each charge, for a total of $90,000, and was ordered to pay an additional $20,000 to the North Atlantic Health and Safety Management Program.

Suncor was accused of failing to ensure the health and safety of its employees on board the ship. The second allegation specifically related to the company's negligence in ensuring that workers wore safety belts securely attached to lifelines when entering confined spaces.

Regulatory response and future actions

According to an agreed statement of facts, Suncor could not guarantee that workers were using appropriate safety harnesses connected to secure anchors outside the ballast tank. According to CBC News, the statement also noted that the company did not ensure that protective equipment was used in the emergency situation that led to the employee's fall.

In response to the incident, Suncor communications officer Leithan Slade expressed that the company acknowledged its shortcomings in safety protocols. “We have failed in our commitment to send people home safely at the end of each shift and that is why we support the creative sentence,” Slade said.