Do you have to be able to swim to work on an oil rig?

Answer 1

Not always. If you get transferred by boat to the rig it might not be a requirement. If you work on rigs where you get transferred by helicopter, you will have to be able to at least swim from a helicopter body from 3 to 4 meters below the water surface to the surface. This might be the only time you will ever need to be able to swim in the unlikely event of a helicopter ditching into the sea. Other times there will always be flotation devices ready.

There is a training course required for operations with helicopter transfers. It is called HUET (Helicopter Underwater Escape Training). During this course you will be placed in a helicopter fuselage and dropped into the water. Once it is submerged and settled, only then can you undo the seat belts and escape via door or window (depending where you sit in the helicopter) to the surface. You are not allowed to inflate a flotation/life vest until you reach the surface.