By Alva Solomon
As the oil and gas sector in Guyana evolves, the need for a well-trained and qualified work force also evolves. One person in demand is a helideck inspector, an aviator who is trained to inspect and assess, as well as license, helideck platforms, a helicopter landing area located on board a ship.
In December 2022, Adrian Bassier, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority’s (GCAA’s) Chief Inspector of Air Navigation Aids, Aerodromes and Ground Aids, became the aviation body’s first certified helideck inspector. It was the culmination of four years of training for Bassier, a qualified air traffic controller who has served the aviation sector for some 33 years.
How it started
Bassier started his career in aviation with the then Civil Aviation Department in April 1989. He climbed through the ranks at Timehri soon after he started. He became an aerodrome controller at 19, after he completed training at the then Ogle Airport. Later, he completed various aspects of air traffic training locally and overseas, which saw him becoming a fully qualified controller.
While at Timerhi, he was promoted to head the GCAA’s Air Traffic Control Training School in 2004, and in 2007 he moved to the city to the aviation body’s headquarters, where he assumed the post of Air Navigation Services Inspector, a new post which the aviation department created at the time.
Around 2010, Bassier was assigned the tasks of the aerodrome inspector, and the department which he headed was expanding and, as such, he became the Chief Inspector, the current portfolio he holds.
Advent of oil and gas
With the advent of oil and gas becoming Guyana’s major economic earner, the GCAA recognized that there would be a tsunami of aviation movements, primarily by helicopters. As such, the aviation umbrella body was tasked with facing various challenges, including the training of its personnel to man the sector’s approach to the oil and gas industry.
Among other expected developments, the oil and gas industry’s enhancement meant that many helicopter movements would be made to offshore locations, mainly to helidecks, a heliport on platforms which helicopters land on onboard ships.
These movements by helicopters offshore Guyana meant that the GCAA needed to up its training. And since the movements fell under the portfolio of Bassier, he was selected to be trained for the task.
Bassier, who is a married father of four, made the sacrifice to undergo training overseas in 2018. At the time he went to neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago to undergo training at Chaguaramas. The training was done through an agreement between the GCAA and the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority.
Following that, Bassier and the GCAA’s crowning moment came when he was tasked with inspecting, as part of his training, the Liza Destiny, Guyana’s first floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which was done in Singapore. The collaboration was done with the aviation umbrella body of Ghana.
According to the GCAA, to access the FPSOs, the crew working onboard must be transported by helicopter, which takes them to the platforms onboard. The helidecks must be certified and licensed, and notably, they require annual inspections as part of their maintenance programme.
Bassier completed in-class and practical training last year December; his last on-the-job training was completed aboard the Liza Prosperity in Singapore. The latter FPSO will be Guyana’s third, and is being completed for operation offshore Guyana.
Family of high achievers
He hails from a family of high achievers. His late father, Dr Dennis Bassier, was a social anthropologist who worked at the University of Guyana. His mother, who was a teacher for most of her life, was at one point the country’s Chief Test Development Officer. His uncles Frank and John also served the public sector with distinction.
While working at the Air Traffic Control Tower at Timehri, Bassier decided to pursue higher academic learning when he read for a bachelor’s degree in public management at the University of Guyana. He was adjudged runner-up valedictorian, and was awarded the Prime Minister’s and the Chancellor’s Medals after being adjudged best graduating public management student in 2009. He also completed his Master’s in project management.
Bassier has been described as a perfectionist by his colleagues as well as staff who were trained under his watch at the Control Tower at Timehri. With his most recent achievement, his colleagues believe that Bassier’s experience and ability will advance the mandate of the GCAA as the country’s oil and gas sector evolves.
