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4.8 Helimet
The industry-developed online system for offshore weather reporting, Helimet, has had increased uptake in 2013
from both offshore installations and pilots. The CAP 437 compliant system, launched in 2011, now allows more than
100 offshore installations to collect and display real-time meteorological data from UKCS platforms and, in turn,
helps to provide semi-automatic pre-flight weather reports to improve the safety of offshore helicopter operations.
In the event of meteorological equipment failure on a platform, the system will automatically access data from
nearby installations.
The map below shows the installations that record and send meteorological information. Colour coding is as follows:
Good weather conditions
Wind speed above 40 knots
Visibility 4,000 metres, wave height five metres, wind speed above 45 knots, cloud less than 600 feet
Visibility less than 1,500 metres, waves greater than seven metres, wind speed greater than 60 knots, cloud less
than 300 feet
No available cloud or visibility data
Work continues in 2014 to enhance the system; this is summarised in section 11.6 of this report.
Figure 17: A Snapshot of the Helimet System Display Showing Weather Conditions at Offshore Installations
