BOE received these pictures of a jackup rig failure offshore China. The rig may have been working at the well platform that is also pictured. Sinopec reported a drilling platform accident during a recent typhoon. Apparently, these are pictures of that accident. We assume that some combination of hull inundation, wind forces, and foundation failure caused the jackup to topple. Two workers were reported to be missing.
A lot of work has been done in recent years to address jackup failures during hurricanes, including this important study by Malcolm Sharples. If we have any readers in China, we encourage them to advise Sinopec about these reports. We also hope that representatives from China are able to join us at the International Regulators’ Offshore Safety Conference in Vancouver to discuss these and other important offshore safety issues.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 
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