Aberdeen dad fell to death 'through fragile flooring' on North Sea drilling rig

A man from Aberdeen died after falling more than 80ft through “fragile flooring” on a North Sea drilling rig, an investigation has found.

Lee Hulse was working on the Valaris 121 rig, located 140 miles off the coast of Aberdeen in Shell’s Shearwater field when the incident happened in November 2025.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that a section of grating in the floor of a crane cab was removed for general cleaning, exposing the “fragile surface”.

Mr Hulse subsequently stepped on it and fell more than 80ft through the floor, sustaining fatal injuries.

The 32-year-old father passed away one week after celebrating his birthday.

North East & Tayside

Dad dies following incident on board North Sea drilling rig

Emergency services were alerted to the death of Lee Hulse on the Valaris 121 rig in the North Sea.

The HSE has issued an improvement notice to Ensco Offshore UK Limited. Valaris is a trading name.

The watchdog said the company “failed to make an assessment of the risks to the health and safety of [its] employees, or others not in [its] employment”.

The notice said Ensco Offshore UK “did not perform a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for the general cleaning activities being conducted on November 14, 2025 in the Crane Cab of the Port Aft crane located on the Valaris 121 Drill Rig”.

Lee Hulse died following an incident on board an offshore drilling rig. Valaris

The HSE investigation is ongoing.

Valaris previously said its priority was the “safety and well-being of all personnel”.

A spokesperson said: “Valaris has been collaborating closely with the relevant authorities since the accident on VALARIS 121 on 14 November, and we are diligently working to carry out the measures detailed in the UK HSE Improvement Notice.

“VALARIS 121 is operating safely, and Valaris’ utmost priority remains our commitment to the safety and well-being of all our personnel.”