A North Sea trade union said it is pleased with the response it has received to a new whistleblowing app aimed at improving safety performance offshore.

The RMT union launched the app – called Blowout, the same name as the union’s long-running publication for the offshore workforce — at the end of July.

As well as allowing workers to stay updated on industry news, it gives them a confidential means to raise safety concerns or highlight incidents with union officials or with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).

RMT regional officer Jake Molloy said the app has been downloaded more than 300 times in the first 20 days since its launch on the AppStore and GooglePlay and has already led to issues being raised.

Blowout was first published in July 1989 to commemorate the first anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster, in which 167 people died.

“Some 30 years on and we are changing again as we try to ensure that industry, regulators and governments hear the ‘voice of the offshore worker’,” Molloy said of the new app.

“If we can provide… a deterrent to bad practice, a deterrent to the culture of covering incidents up and threatening anyone involved, we will see this as a success,” he added.

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RMT hails whistleblowing app launch