OFFSHORE workers demanded an independent public inquiry into the safety of helicopter transport today, following the deaths of dozens of workers in the past decade.

Research released by the RMT union shows that 33 North Sea workers and crew have been killed in helicopter accidents since February 2009.

More than 65 workers have also been rescued from helicopter crashes, the findings reveal.

All of the incidents involved Super Puma helicopters, a type that was withdrawn from use immediately after a fatal crash off the Norwegian coast in 2016.

None have been deployed on North Sea services since that incident, which claimed 13 lives, despite the Civil Aviation Authority issuing the aircraft with airworthiness certificates in July 2017.

As a result of this recertification, RMT members have lost trust in safety standards and believe that a proper inquiry would renew confidence in transport to North Sea oil rigs.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “Commercial pressures must never be allowed to threaten offshore workers’ safety and it is only an independent public inquiry that would provide the clarity and certainty that RMT members are demanding over the future direction of helicopter transport in the North Sea.”

At a parliamentary debate on the issue, Labour MP Alex Cunningham said: “I’ve been met with a series of broad-brush replies from the government that have done nothing to address the concerns of offshore workers.

“We need confidence so that workers may be able to continue their work.”