Two subcontractors have been cited for safety violations related to the August death of a commercial diver at BP Cherry Point refinery.

The federal branch of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration last month fined the diving company that employed the diver and the construction company that oversaw the project’s equipment for violations including improper equipment use, an incomplete dive plan and a lack of employee safety training.

OSHA will not cite BP, which was not directly involved in the project’s day-to-day operations, according to an investigation completed last month.

The Bellingham Herald obtained the investigations and citations this week through a public records request.

Commercial diver Christopher Primeau, 35, of Wallula died offshore of the Cherry Point refinery Aug. 7 after a piling weighing between 11,000 and 18,000 pounds came loose from the enormous hammer driving it and crushed Primeau’s chest.

Primeau’s job was to ensure pilings were being driven to appropriate depths during the installation of a state-mandated boom system designed to prevent oil spills.

OSHA fined the diver’s employer, Spokane-based Associated Underwater Services, $5,000 for two safety violations: using a dive plan that didn’t address hazards for dives deeper than 100 feet and not keeping employees clear of lifted and suspended loads.

Several officials at the company did not return phone calls seeking comment.

General Construction Co., based in Poulsbo, was fined $16,650 for four violations: not training employees in the recognition and avoidance of improperly secured loads; not inspecting the jaws of the vibrating hammer to ensure it was safe for lifting pilings; using the hammer as a lifting device when it had not been tested for that use; and not keeping employees clear of lifted and suspended loads.

General Construction is contesting the citations through OSHA’s independent review committee, said Joy Flack, director of OSHA’s Bellevue office.

General Construction spokesman Kent Grisham said the company views the violations as inaccurate but would not comment on specifics until the appeal processes is complete.

BP has since fired General Construction and hired Seattle-based Manson Construction Co. Manson is likely to complete the project by January, said Bill Kidd, director of external affairs for BP.

The August incident caused BP to miss a state deadline last month to complete the booming system, which would surround and isolate incoming ships for oil transfers. BP, which received an extension on the project from the state Department of Ecology, initially feared it wouldn’t be completed until next spring.

Flack said BP was not cited because subcontractors were directly responsible for the violations.

“(BP) didn’t have direct enough involvement in the day-to-day operations (to be cited),” Flack said.

Kidd said BP did not hire contractors to avoid liability but rather because BP staff does not have the training to perform that kind of work.

Kidd said BP scrutinizes the safety records of outside companies prior to hiring.

“It’s not a responsibility that we take lightly, and any kind of work done anywhere near our facilities is of great concern to us,” he said.

Kidd said BP does periodic checks to ensure conditions are appropriate when outside contractors operate there, but said the offshore nature of this project made that difficult.

The process Manson will use to complete the project won’t require a diver, Kidd said.

Reach Cat Sieh at cat.sieh@bellinghamherald.com or call 715-2236.