This Wave Killed All 84 Men
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ก.ค. 2023
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Scary situation isn't it
I've only been on a few offshore rigs but I've yet to see anaother with a British submarine control panel.
Great to see and support a fellow South African on TH-cam. Loving your content. Keep up the good work bud.
@N1pp4l03 thanks. Welcome aboard. I love to see South Africans in the comments too. I live in Germany now and I always feel a sense of pride and it reminds me how much I miss South Africa when Saffas let me know they’re watching.
@@kelinrkpin😊😊😊
I’m a Newfoundlander and I lost 3 high school friends in this awful disaster. Rip my friends
Oh I am so sorry!
My condolences 😞🙏 on your loss my friend
Sorry prayers
I’m so sorry for your loss. I suppose they were a major employer in the area. We play Russian roulette with Mother Nature. 😢
I'm so sorry, my family and I were stationed in Gander then and my Dad was a Pilot on the Labrador helicopter that flew out that night. I heard him get up and everyone else was asleep. It was such bad weather that night that even the cabs weren't running. I remember being so scared as my Dad left and though praying wasn't something I did, I did ask God that night to bring him home safely. They couldn't take off right away due to bad bad icing caused by sleety snow and driving winds. He told me all they found was one life raft with one deceased crew member. It made me so mad because I remember on the Thursday previous there was discussion on NTV about evacuating the Ocean Ranger but the company said it was built to withstand storms. My Dad said the waves were 100ft from wave base to top of waves and they were unable to get any closer and apart from the one raft, everything else was gone. It was a very sad time, the whole Province in grief. I'm so sorry for your loss. I thought the company was so arrogant by not completely shutting down.
The fact that they kept working during this storm... really tells you everything you need to know about the company!!!
All for profit oil corporations wealth, fuck the numbers on board
If they knew a big storm was coming and hurricane winds why not bring everybody to the closest port, I presume it was St.Johns. My Brother's in-laws brother David Boutcher also died.
Even more so the fact that most of it is not only legal but expected if your not willing to put your life at risk your not worth the companies money.
With no disrespect to the lost, I'm trying to work out what would have been a better plan. Obviously, the time to abandon ship to save the most lives would have been well before the extent of the storm was known. So would it have been to vacate the ship prior to the storm? Sailors work in inclement weather all the time, after all. I don't want to get reactionary and make assumptions that might not have any merit.
They should have brought the entire crew back to St. Johns if they knew this storm was coming. Terrible.
I was a crew member with dept of fisheries and oceans. We were put on search and rescue. I have a hard time finding the words to describe that time. The ship was pin drop quiet. We spotted a life raft, when we got closer it was in two pieces. We searched , everyone looking. We pulled eight out of the Atlantic. All the while knowing the power of that storm. There’s no guarantees in a storm on the sea. Heartbroken every time but knowing there was no hope. One man had his last name stenciled on his coveralls. I’ve never forgotten him. Learned his first name in a Maclean’s magazine letter written by his brother. Now there it was again in this post. As for preparedness. Coveralls we’re not the usual attire. Some had pyjamas on. No socks or shoes. Nothing to protect them from the cold. Nothing! Just the small red type life jacket that goes around your neck, like you’d wear in July in a boat on a lake. It will haunt me the rest of my days. I was a 21 year old then. 63 now and still it makes my heart hurt. My ship was heading for the North Sea. I worked through the union to ensure EVERYONE on board had a Mustang floater suit. I wasn’t popular with the captain but the crew were grateful. By the way the Ocean Ranger was known as the Ocean Danger to her crew.
I'm sorry for the loss of life. Thank you and your mates for the effort given the rescue and for your work in obtaining life suits. May the Lord have mercy on the souls of these men. Amen
Be proud - making the world a better place for future generations is a tough thing to do.
Lord God, have mercy on the living and the dead. Grant the living, peace, who have witnessed death, in ways horrific to the eye, mind, and spirit. That only You can provide, Lord. Amen 🌹 🌹🌹 Revelation 20:11-15
[11]Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.
[12]And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
[13]The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
[14]Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
[15]And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Mario Yero😊
❤❤❤❤
That control room not being set for storm conditions is mind boggling! An unsecured portal killed everyone, incredible. ...
Yep. Unbelievable
I was offshore for 30 years on Platforms, Jackups, Semisubmersible’s and diving boats, and I can say from my heart that everyone on board these vessels know that the Companies put money before their life
Just like titan sub, titanic, challenger..etc. People will take the job cause of the money, the company will cut corners cause of the money.
This is the case with a lot of companies sadly
My neighbour is a retired helicopter pilot... The last pilot to being men off of the Ocean Ranger. The Ranger was managed by a land based oil drilling company and they had no idea how to operate the Ocean Ranger. The staff engineer left a newbie in charge of the stability and ballast system before the incident, but neither the main guy nor the newbie knew properly what they were doing. Once it passed a certain list angle, there was nothing to be done and it was doomed. My helicopter pilot friend said all the helicopter pilots didn't like going to the Ocean Ranger - ever!! There was a clear difference in quality of operations between the Ranger and other rigs in the area.. Your video suggests the incident was mostly weather based. But in fact it was primarily management based. The other rigs in the area DID NOT SINK!!!!! Management of the Ocean Ranger from top to bottom were entirely incompetent and should never have been running such a rig. They didn't even have enough safety PPE!!!!! Most could have survived if they had survival suits! Terrible incompetence and I don't like that your video doesn't touch on the management deficiencies!!
….excellent point sir .
If you know it! Then you and everyone else are putting your own lives in risk for money just like they're doing you for money.
My neighbour is a retired helicopter pilot... The last pilot to bring men off of the Ocean Ranger. The Ranger was managed by a land based oil drilling company and they had no idea how to operate the Ocean Ranger. The staff engineer left a newbie in charge of the stability and ballast system before the incident, but neither the main guy nor the newbie knew properly what they were doing. Once it passed a certain list angle, there was nothing to be done and it was doomed. My helicopter pilot friend said all the helicopter pilots didn't like going to the Ocean Ranger - ever!! There was a clear difference in quality of operations between the Ranger and other rigs in the area.. Your video suggests the incident was mostly weather based. But in fact it was primarily management based. The other rigs in the area DID NOT SINK!!!!! Management of the Ocean Ranger from top to bottom were entirely incompetent and should never have been running such a rig. They didn't even have enough safety PPE!!!!! Most could have survived if they had survival suits! Terrible incompetence and I don't like that your video doesn't touch on the management deficiencies!!
Don’t tell me the land based company was from Texas, I wouldn’t be surprised if
They weren't ready . Someone should have called them out on their bs before it was too late
Would have been a giant law suit. Surprised families didn't hire attorney.
@@michaelchason7863 I think the families did bring law suits.
@@nedmilburn certain situations it's justified for the family to get paid well to prevent future negelence and and help for the lost. When swift lost a case for 28 million the lady crossed the medium and hit a semi truck that was going below the speed limit. 2 kids in her vehicle (1 killed,1 brain injury for life) and her was out of control due to snow and ice in her car. Largest law suit in history against a trucking firm. I don't think swift was wrong to a strong degree and makes no sense how Swift didn't go out of buissnes. Probably a 2 year profit margin gone. That's why you see so many billboard lawyers wanting a truck accident. Admire people who work on the water, especially day and night. Even a tug boat wouldn't be easy
A semisubmersible rig can be risky even in calm waters, if someone doesn't know what they're doing.
As a marine electrician in 1965, I was on such a rig like that, in a wet dock at Ingles Shipbuilding Corp in Pascagoula, Mississippi when someone accidentally left a valve open on one of the pontoons allowing seawater to start pouring in. The platform I was on started to tilt and everyone panicked. As we entered an elevator to evacuate, we could see through a port hole where a fire truck had been lowered down using hoists and was pumping water out of that leg. After a few more minutes the error was discovered and the valve was closed. Back on land, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and no one was injured, but it could have been disastrous.
Thats pretty impressive that they managed to utilize the fire truck in such a manner, smart people made up for the stupid people that day
That is an unbelievable story! The incredible bravery of the coast guard, willingly venturing out in those conditions is mind blowing
As a Canadian, this disaster is embedded in my memory. I realise that the storm was immense, but this seems to be yet another example of people mattering far less than money. Since the storm was forecast to be a bad one, shouldn’t the men have been evacuated before it hit? Or is that a dumb question? It’s so, so sad. 😔
designchik , I think you nailed it perfectly by your words well said .
He literally mentioned that the platform was designed to withstand severe conditions.
@@Ayn-Rand-Is-Dead agreed
When have people ever mattered more than money, to these ravenous rich bastards ? Haven’t you been watching what the Soros and Schwabs have been doing to the entire world ?
@@Ayn-Rand-Is-Dead There's nothing more vile and repulsive than a communist.
No added drama, just the story of the event told with no BS, regular media
could learn so much from this video.
Thanks 🤜🏻
The courage and commitment of the rescuers in such condictions is totally commendable, putting their
own lives at risk throughout during this terrible incident.
Amazes me how a helicopter can even fly In such conditions, and then land on a neighbouring oil rig whilst the crew are all suffering sea sickness. Balls of steel.
Brave men indeed. A few months ago I was following the story of Caribbean commercial divers that got sucked into pipeline due to a delta p incident. The oil company left them there to die even after one guy was able crawl out on his own. The company made no attempts to rescue. They had no plan and could not come up with one.
My father served on a destroyer in the N Atlantic during the war, taking convoys to Arkangel in Russia.
On one run he witnessed several waves running before a storm that he says was over 200 ft high.
His boat ploughed in & disappered for 20 seconds...when they poked out the upper side...two Liberty Ships had slammed bow-first into the wave....and never broke surface....
He said they just kept on...to the bottom of the Ocean.
The convoy carried on without even slowing.
The Ocean Ranger was designed and built by MItsubishi Heavy Industries. The location of the ballast control room was about 30 feet above the water line in one of the support legs. The port hole window in the control room was not designed to be hit by waves, which is why there was a second hatch, this one without a window, which was closed over the first one in the event of a major storm. Evidently the crew didn't know about the exterior hatch or they knew about it but didn't close it for some unknown reason. Either way, it was never closed. It's heartbreaking to think something as simple as closing a hatch might have prevented this. This was central to Mitsubishi's defense.
Cool story bro.
Thank you. Wonder why this crucial bit if info wasn't mentioned in the video.
@@adhoc9647These videos often leave out critical information and do a poor job of contextualizing events.
Oh wow man, indeed how you state it, it IS even more heartbreaking,..
A question, is it nowadays like there was in the recommendations on the Piper Alpha dissaster that a control room (i don't know if there are different laws between different control rooms) should be separated from what it controls? I could understand that this should be part of the main control room...
I spoke to one of the engineers that investigated this happening and he said, " the damage done to the control room pylon was indicative of a severe collision." So, it was concluded that maybe, the Mekanic Tarasov ran into the Ocean Ranger and then high tailed it out of there because of the suspicious cargo it was carrying. Interestingly, the Captain would not let anyone be rescued and it sank with all hands with severe bow damage I took further steps and checked out the possible cargo it might have been carrying and I discovered the Chalk River Laboratories had a whole warehouse of plutonium go missing. People like to believe the theory that is mainstream, if you really look at the evidence, it is far too coincidental. This video essay only perpetuates the official narrative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . on a somber, note the real death toll is 88 as the engineer mysteriously disappeared after we had our conversation.
I've been loving the emergence of these genuinely high-quality, accurate "disaster" channels over the last couple years. It's refreshing not having to sift through so many melodramatic top 10s that retell entirely fictional stories. Keep it up man!
Thanks will do my best
You a fan of Mentour Pilot? If you are into aircraft, he’s very good.
@@johnnunn8688 Absolutely! Him and mini air crash investigation make up the lion's share of the aviation accident content I watch. Brick Immortar and Plainly Difficult too for more general/civil engineering disasters.
@@fdfd4739all great channels!!! I've become a subscriber to all of those in the last year lol scary interesting is another decent channel
Education is the greatest form of entertainment. That's why we love this channel and the others, especially Brick. Reality is stranger than fiction for damn sure. I'm grateful that these fellas read through the investigation reports and essentially write essays that we can follow in a story format. The ones on TV are few and far between, overly censored, riddled with commercials 😞 Very happy these guys can present their research on TH-cam so us junkies can enjoy. At first I thought these disasters were rare and so surely we'd run out of original stories... sigh, no. Sadly there's just about infinity of these disaster stories with bad endings. At least we can honor some of these incredible souls by learning their stories and how to avoid disasters of our own. ✌️🌎🌏🦈🤿
There's something profoundly tragic knowing that the seamen and the rescuers were all highly skilled, brave, and fighting for survival with all they had. And they still couldn't make it. You never know when it's your time, gotta get right with the Creator.
i can't imagine what it must have been like out there. huge respect to the brave rescuers that tried to help.
What a terrible terrible fate to befall so many brave men. Many thanks for producing this calmly articulated factual and informative documentary without the usual annoyingly intrusive background music.
A comment above says other rigs in the area didn't sink. That this one was no managed properly. And a Newby was left in charge of the ballast system!
Read the comments for more info
I am a desert rat by birth and just want to say I have the most respect for you the men that work in the ocean,I salute you sirs ,God keep all of you safe and his hands.🙏👍✨️
Full credit to those who went and braved those conditions in the hope of saving people. What a heartbreaking scenario
I was in the US Coast Guard in 1979- 2005. When I was on CGC Boutwell, we had to rescue about 16 people off one of these in a storm in gulf of alaska.Never underestimate what mother nature is capable of doing. 60 foot waves are beautiful when you are young and have no idea how much energy is contained in waves like this.This was just after the MV Prinsendam cruise ship sinking, all 504 people were rescued.
Save the nature and stop oil!!!! 🧩
We lost Ken Blackmore on the Ocean Ranger a good friend of our family. My uncle worked on the SEDCO 706 at that time as well. The seas on the Grand Banks are Brutal! A lot of changes have been implemented based on this tragedy.
So sorry for your loss maybe his death will not be in vain if it helped to save others. This was aweful. Good lord.
You may see my post up above. Then you will know it’s now happened again. Ken was the man we recovered with the name Blackmore on across his shoulders. I often wondered what his job had been and I see now he was a medic from this clip. Please know I worked with the nurse on duty, we also had another RN who was a nurse. These eight men we brought on board were treated like our own crew mates. There’s an honor and brotherhood amongst those who have spent time at sea. We mourned them and gave them all the respect possible. As for Mr. Blackmore, I will never forget him or that night
Thank You Susan for your message and thank you for your service on that dreadful night. Ken was also the Communications guy on the rig as well. He had both duties. I still stay in touch with his son, named Ken as well. He still lives in Nfld and his mother is still in the same city as well. I passed along your message and he was very thankful for your service and comments.@@susanyeadon6657
Imagine being the guy who didn't secure the porthole before the storm. You would be absolutely one hundred percent responsible for the deaths of those men, not to mention the loss of the rig
Thank you for posting this poignant series of documentaries about tragedies in the offshore industry. I worked offshore as a welder in the British & Dutch sectors from 78 to 86, the power of nature can not be overstated, sitting out force 12 storms, offshore in the North Sea, which we did, numerous times, is a humbling experience. I count my blessings to have both experienced them and still be here. I offer my sincere condolences to the families and friends of those who weren’t so lucky. Time and again the failure of procedures to prioritise the protection of lives in this industry has led the such disasters.
They're just incredible stories of brave people.
My uncle, Lelon David Droddy, was a driller and he died on the Ocean Ranger. He was one of like 22 people ever recovered. His dad and my grandfather, Leroy Droddy, was in upper management with ODECO… maybe a president or vice president? I forget what his name plate says. My grandfather has since passed away and they were both laid to rest at the Maryville Cemetery.
🙏🏾🙏🏾
I worked on a sister rig to the Ranger, in the North Sea when this happened, the Ocean Victory. It was a very somber time. Every American man, mainly from Louisiana and Texas I worked with, knew or had friends on the Ranger. We were working in similar conditions often and it certainly made you think a little more about our perils and mans impunity when nature is in control. So very sad for all those men's families and loved ones.
God Bless all the oil rig workers.
Respect to you all for doing the job
The Titanic had a sister ship, the Olympia. I'm not sure if that's common to build ships (or drilling platforms) in pairs, but if not, it makes me wonder if there's some kind of curse that targets a "sibling."
The Ocean Ranger's crew were all Newfoundlanders, not 'Mercan, so how did the the Victory crew know the other crew?
I wonder why only men and not women are usually killed on these huge rigs? Shouldn't equal-pay translate into equal risk?
If not all this communist feminist ideology is nothing but a scam Against Humanity.
As a 1st Mate, I was caught in a once in a hundred years storm because we had to get the cargo in on time. Hours of just sitting in one place under full throttle doing nothing but climbing waves and crashing down into the trough. You haven't lived until you have experienced a brief moment of weightlessness on a self powered cargo barge just before you begin to fall into the next wave. I had to hang onto the arms of the chair, bolted to the floor, to keep from falling backwards out of my chair. It was a long time ago and I still have the immersion suit I bought shortly thereafter.
Helped deploy sidescan and mags in some kinda moderate chop, and even then, being on deck felt slightly dicey. Can hardly imagine sitting in a storm like that. Crazy!
As a retired Canadian Navy sailor my first trip to sea ended up in a hurricane. I literally walked on bulkheads. I also managed to go up an entire deck in one step (with a 5 gallon carton of milk on my shoulder) as the ship dove out from under me just as I reached the bottom of the ladder. When I stepped off that ladder at the top the ship hit the bottom of the trough and that carton of milk drove me to my knees lol. During one of our rolls we went so far over we lost the bubble in our inclinometer. That was the worst storm I faced in 20 years a sailor.
My neighbour is a retired helicopter pilot... The last pilot to being men off of the Ocean Ranger. The Ranger was managed by a land based oil drilling company and they had no idea how to operate the Ocean Ranger. The staff engineer left a newbie in charge of the stability and ballast system before the incident, but neither the main guy nor the newbie knew properly what they were doing. Once it passed a certain list angle, there was nothing to be done and it was doomed. My helicopter pilot friend said all the helicopter pilots didn't like going to the Ocean Ranger - ever!! There was a clear difference in quality of operations between the Ranger and other rigs in the area.. This video suggests the incident was mostly weather based. But in fact it was primarily management based. The other rigs in the area DID NOT SINK!!!!! Management of the Ocean Ranger from top to bottom were entirely incompetent and should never have been running such a rig. They didn't even have enough safety PPE!!!!! Most could have survived if they had survival suits! Terrible incompetence and I don't like that this video doesn't touch on the management deficiencies!!
@@nedmilburn It would seem that they are afraid of "defaming" dead men.
How much an hour were they paying you? There is not enough money in the world to make me do something like that😮
On the old SS Norway cruising out of Miami we ran into 18-22 ft. seas. In the middle of the night one of the crew with a huge wrench came into our stateroom, lowered a thick steel cover over the round glass porthole saying conditions expected to get worse before they get batter. Appears to me, based on the story, the reason they all died was the lack of a hinged steel cover for the broken port hole.
You had an angel come to you with a giant wrench instead of wings homeboy.
Read further up in the comments, somebody says there was a steel Hatch on the outside, it just wasn't closed
I was captain on a small vessel. We had spent two months in the Arctic winter and headed from the Arctic to Virginia, passing through this exact area, though not at that time. The ship was 224 ft and 1900 tons. Over a 48-hour period our average speed over the ground was 1 knot. One. I had to sleep in a tube by putting my survival suit on one side of the mattress and lifejackets on the other. My forward-facing porthole was covered by a steel plate. Those Nor'Easters are nothing to mess around with.
☠️
Not that there's any glory in describing a story as unfortunate as this one, but if you have to do it, the narrative style and impartial outlook used here give the tale a chilling dignity. Respect
did you mention that the ocean ranger had a list of several degrees for quite a while before the wave hit. I worked in Newfoundland for a company that had a service contract and the personal were already worried by the list. On Monday morning, I was told all the guys we met are dead. They were killed by the falling structure. The boom for the life boat was invented after this tragedy. The workers were Canadian and were not covered by insurance : families were not paid , tey had to accept a nominal amount.
Love your videos!
I'm an offshore worker In the north sea and find it really cool that someone highlights the disasters we had over the years.
Yeah its such a rich history and fascinating for divers and sailors. Thanks for watching.
@@surfrescue3232 not the accident, but the fact that someone highlights the disasters and risk we face out here offshore.
I remember the day the news came out, it was a lot like hearing that the Fitz had gone down. Naval and Coast guard officials were dumbfounded that the whole rig was simply gone. This is the best explanation I have seen of this incident, well done. Also back at that time the idea of "rogue waves" was pretty much considered ridiculous and it took a long time for engineers to design ships and oil rigs to handle them. Enjoyed it greatly, thanks much!
With all due respect, the idea of 'rogue waves' has been an accepted fact to Mariners all over the world, since the beginning of sea-faring.
@@xxxxxx-ow2hpI think that he meant that the idea of rogue waves was ridiculous to engineers, scientists and the like. Mariners have known about rogue waves for centuries. It wasn't until recently, when rogue waves were actually filmed, that the rest of society finally realized what mariners have long known.
Much respect to the workers here. Honestly it takes lots of special everything taking this on. Sorry for the loss of life and the families.
The fact that they didn't cease operations until the platform was already seriously listing and after seawater had already long breached the vital control room shows the depth and breadth of the perverse incentives these men were operating under.
I was on an FPSO offshore China in the Huizu Field. The company tested the mooring buoy during a Typhoon. Thing was --we were all on board! Main deck doorways were closed up and the sea state was literally scary! We rode out the Typhoon at sea as 'Safety first after production ' seemed to be the rules! Never again! I resigned shortly after!
🤥🤥🤥
China, theres your problem
Everything about this incident is so frustrating. No one should have died, but because of greed, incompetence, and poor design, so many souls were lost.
My neighbour is a retired helicopter pilot... The last pilot to being men off of the Ocean Ranger. The Ranger was managed by a land based oil drilling company and they had no idea how to operate the Ocean Ranger. The staff engineer left a newbie in charge of the stability and ballast system before the incident, but neither the main guy nor the newbie knew properly what they were doing. Once it passed a certain list angle, there was nothing to be done and it was doomed. My helicopter pilot friend said all the helicopter pilots didn't like going to the Ocean Ranger - ever!! There was a clear difference in quality of operations between the Ranger and other rigs in the area.. This video suggests the incident was mostly weather based. But in fact it was primarily management based. The other rigs in the area DID NOT SINK!!!!! Management of the Ocean Ranger from top to bottom were entirely incompetent and should never have been running such a rig. They didn't even have enough safety PPE!!!!! Most could have survived if they had survival suits! Terrible incompetence and I don't like that this video doesn't touch on the management deficiencies!!
@@nedmilburnThis comment should be pinned. Thanks
@@peaceformula5830 Thank you for the recognition.
Yea if you leave a porthole uncovered in a storm (there is a steel door that can be dogged down in bad weather)that’s just stupid
That is such a sad story. All those men with unique personalities, family, dreams of their own and guts enough to go earn a living risking their lives. THOSE were men... REAL MEN!
This was the most in depth analysis of this event I've ever seen. Excellent work.
I’ve seen this story told probably five or six times before. You did an amazing job. I’m blown away. I can’t wait to see more from you. Bravo my friend
Thanks, I really appreciate that 🤜🏻
This was a complete and detailed and easy to understand description of a disaster, I knew nothing about. Thank you.
Wow. I never heard of this maritime disaster before. Granted, I was very young in 1982 but this is an historic disaster which should never be forgotten. I come from a long line of Maritime Provinces and New England based sea farers. Really shocked that I hadn't been aware of it before. Thank you for the information!
I worked as a trainee engineer for Mobil. I've never seen such slopiness on safety. Money over men, every time.
My heart goes out especially to someone doing an honest days work, to support themself, and or family, and dies so tragically! Blessings on their wives, kids, moms, dads, etc.!
The Ocean Ranger story is brutal. I bet no rig now has a porthole on the ballast control room anymore
I find it crazy that thing got passed the design phase.
I worked on several fixed, offshore platform in the North Sea. Essentially, there is no movement as you are fixed to the sea bed, well above sea level and therefore as stable as a high rise building, regardless of weather or season. I was always concerned with the "semi submersible " design, however, as they rely on complex systems to keep them stable. They were originally designed for relatively shallow environments, such as the Gulf of Mexico. Not sure why a semi-sub was deployed off Newfoundland, with its far worse winter conditions but I guess the depths were simply too great for a fixed platform?
You contradicted yourself. Are SBs for relatively shallow or too deep for anchoring environments and are they not all anchored to the sea bed?
@@davidpawson7393i said they originated in the Gulf, in shallow water environments. They were not deployed in the North Sea (water depth 600ft) in (long term) production applications - just in (shorter term) drilling operations. I have no idea what was the consideration in deploying them for a production application off Newfoundland was and that was my question - maybe it was timing (takes a long time to build and deploy a fixed platforms, whereas a semi-sub can be leased), maybe economics or maybe it was a water depth consideration (they are very deep waters there).
@@stephenburnage7687 This was being used as a drilling vessel; not production. Also, most semi-submersibles actually can't operate in too shallow water depth (eg. 150m or less) - in such cases a jack-up is usually deployed as they're significantly cheaper to operate and reduce operational complexities (eg. no requirement for heave compensation; tide correction; simpler sub-sea/BOP management etc.).
You’re talking rubbish.
The whole point a semi-sub rig is to be able to work in deep waters.
North Sea is nowhere near as deep as Gulf of Mexico. Some parts of the Southern North Sea off of Yarmouth for example are only 25m deep which is why Jack ups are used because it’s not deep enough for a semi-sub.
Deepest parts of the North Sea are around 600m off the shelf west of Shetland. Average G.O.M depth is around 1600m
The Gulf of Mexico isn't shallow...
I’m from Cape Breton of the coast of Nova Scotia. My dad told me about a storm were we lost 5 boats. It was bad.
There have been many men in my family from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland that were lost at sea.
This is just horrifying. Both rescuers and seamen, hats off to you all for such incredible bravery.
The offshore oil industry grew up mostly in the 1970's, after the formation of OPEC and much higher oil prices. The newly developed expertise was a combination of (land based) drilling (an expertise centered on Texas); oil & gas processing (building on oil company refinery operations, in Texas, California or the UK) and shipbuilding (various yards around the world). They were typically designed for "100 year" weather conditions but i bet that whoever designed that hatch/window that broke only had experience of vessels that turn into the weathe (a ships bows are designed to climb over big seas). The lack of maneuverability of a semi-sub, however, meant that the full force of the weather broke on a window only 25 ft above sea level. That hatch probably needed to be 1," thick toughened glass or, better still, the entire control room needed to be located in a less vulnerable place. A bit like aircraft accidents, i bet this incident greatly influenced the design of later vessels.
That’s good breakdown
They had a armored plate for the window they just omitted to close
@@norml.hugh-mann Really? All of that loss of life from a simple failure to shut a hatch!. One wonders whether closing that hatch was mentioned in their bad weather operating procedures. Maybe not.
My neighbour is a retired helicopter pilot... The last pilot to being men off of the Ocean Ranger. The Ranger was managed by a land based oil drilling company and they had no idea how to operate the Ocean Ranger. The staff engineer left a newbie in charge of the stability and ballast system before the incident, but neither the main guy nor the newbie knew properly what they were doing. Once it passed a certain list angle, there was nothing to be done and it was doomed. My helicopter pilot friend said all the helicopter pilots didn't like going to the Ocean Ranger - ever!! There was a clear difference in quality of operations between the Ranger and other rigs in the area.. This video suggests the incident was mostly weather based. But in fact it was primarily management based. The other rigs in the area DID NOT SINK!!!!! Management of the Ocean Ranger from top to bottom were entirely incompetent and should never have been running such a rig. They didn't even have enough safety PPE!!!!! Most could have survived if they had survival suits! Terrible incompetence and I don't like that this video doesn't touch on the management deficiencies!!
@@nedmilburn interesting that you say that. The other big offshore incident was the Occidental Piper tragedy in the North Sea. Everyone working in the Offshore industry (tens of thousands) viewed Occidental as a 'cowboy' operation and the most likely platform to suffer a catastrophic failure, years ahead of its final demise. What you say about Ocean Rangers operatons sounds very similar.
An absolutely brilliant production, great graphics, wonderful commentary, a real compelling story! Very sad for the families of those lost.
RIP to all those who lost lives.
Thank you to so many commentators who have such first hand experience in oil rigs. It has for me been educational, normally it’s just people like myself commenting, so to have so many experts has provided their past and current life experiences has been very informative.
On my perfect rig there will be a central command center that is the lifeboat.
Like a crash cage in a race car everything else is expendable.
The escape pod can be jettisoned by having it sit atop the working part of the platform.
The crew never has to go into the storm to get into boats,do head counts or leave base and be separated.
They can continue to fight to save the rig and are able to maintain communication but when it fails you're already in the rescue boat.
Surprised this was the first time I have heard of this tragedy.
Shocking how long these rigs remain operational in the face of such immediate disaster.
I don't see how this the first time you heard of it ocean ranger is one of the most popular rig disasters in history.
I worked for an oilfield service company in Louisiana when this happened. About two weeks after the tragedy, I had to go to an ODECO rig to work on equipment. Normally upon arrival, you checked in with the steward, then the company man, then went right to work. This trip, we all had to take a safety course and tour the escape boats before going to work. That was the first time I had been briefed on procedures on any rig. ODECO was playing CYA, too little, too late.
Unfortunately that is a very typical response with many companies.
The fact that it's only ODECO doing this and it is not standard practice across the industry, says a lot about the entire industry - not just ODECO.
Should be called ShoddyCo.
I had a very close friend a few years ago who used to work a season every year on a rig in the North sea. I well remember the stories he told me of some very hair raising things that happened during the storms out there!Much braver men than I !!
Great stuff....well done. On a minor note, north of the equator, it's a hurricane as opposed to cyclone south of the equator. Thank you sir...
Very well presented. Amazing what happens when just one steel control room porthole cover is left open!
Such a sad story, you did a remarkable job of describing the extreme dangers of working in freezing ocean storms.
Dangerous for sure. It would be helpful if there weren't a window near the electronics. Why not run around with a grenade with the pin out.
@@JohnSmith-qi6co I would not want to be the engineer who decided that a porthole was a good idea for this workspace. I was on a navy ship when waves broke the windows out of the Bridge. Moving water is a force that is hard to stop.
My uncle was one of the ones lost on this incident, His name was Cyril Greene. Though I never got to meet him before he passed, my dad tells me stories about him and Cyrcil growing up together. One of them being uncle Cyril used to own a really nice car for the time (I can't remember the name of the car) but my father was only young (Hes the youngest out of the 12 brothers and sisters). So anyway dad wanted cyril to take him for a ride the night before he got sent off on the rig and cyril told dad to ask my grandmother, she said not tonight but when he gets home, yes. He passed the next day and never made it home due to the storm, Its the last memory my father has with him. They never recovered his body but his name is on the memorial down in st. Johns along with all the other crew members that passed. May they all rest in peace❤
R.I.P. for those brave men.
Okay. I'm only like 10 minutes into this video I think. Maybe 12. But as a commercial fisherman now retired. But with over 20 years on the water, the first thing that I started screaming at my phone was why don't they have doggable hatches on the inside of their portholes?? Especially if they're only 20 feet above the water line in the north Atlantic!?!?!?!🤯🤯
Man once again the oil industry is a shit show. No wonder they have so many lobbyists paying congressman to vote the way they want to so that they're not regulated. It's cheaper to pay out to families than it is to ensure that everybody is safe. Not having a hatch on that. Porthole is just one example of a thousand things that they didn't do because they didn't care about the crew
If you need to use those it's far too late. Think people, think.
@@davidpawson7393that doesn't mean they shouldn't have those hatches, *THINK DAVID, THINK!*
They did have them. They just didn't close them during the storm for some reason.
@@michaelfrench3396. That seems about right. Something so stupidly simple as this is unforgivable but relatively common.
My Neighbour James Dodd served on that Rig. And sadly lost his life.
Our thoughts are with all those men and their families.
That sucks!! All that for some dam fuel..not worth the lives of those good,hard working men!! RIP guys!
I rode out several typhoons in the Pacific while I served in the U.S. Navy. It was quite an experience!
50 foot seas in only 100 feet deep water is one hell of a combination. Those would be some extra violent waves due to the interaction with the bottom.
Dude, the waves were reaching more than 100 feet.
How very sad this story is, I barely remember hearing about it. They all must have been terrified at such a force of nature!
I LOVE this channel- have been bingeing and quietly liking and sharing videos but as this is only 10 days old, I hope the creator catches this and gets my praise. Fantastic content, no ads in middle... Sooo much quality. Just fantastic. Keep up the great work.
Thanks, I really appreciate that
@@waterlinestories delighted to catch your response as my late night binge continues- really outstanding quality. Thanks again.
Rig: disaster
Mobil: we are experiencing a minor 'administrative' problem
We have now had confirmation that our insurance will cover it. Yes there was a problem but it’s ok we have found another rig to replace the one we lost. No investor will suffer and production will resume shortly.
@@waterlinestories lol
@@waterlinestories bstrds.
Its amazing how many of these expensive complicated engineering projects are engineered for extreme conditions, but so often simple problems are neglected, like salt water intrusion into a control station or key pump, placing a control station in a vulnerable location, neglecting simple backup systems and emergency protocols.
Lord,, may the souls of these brave men be resting in your care..My nephew is a fisherman in Cape Cod... Such a dangerous job... Shame on these companies for putting people in Harms way....GREED GREED GREED
So they put a porthole in an electrical control room next to the sea level and didn't think it wouldn't get flooded?
That controlled ballast.
As a professional mariner for most of my life (in the Royal Australian Navy) l find this so sad and l fully understand the fear and horror that these people must have been feeling as the sea was taking them to itself. And the sadness and frustration of the rescuers who could not beat the environment on the day. No human will ever be able to fully master the ocean.
l have been involved in a few rescues at sea myself including in command positions, with one in the lndian Ocean a bit like this, . Fortunately, from good seamanship we were successful on that occasion.
❤and fair winds for all those in peril on the sea.
I really do enjoy watching these the information and science he explaines and the way he explains it is just so well balanced wonderful job been here a while. LETS KEEP GROWING!!
I have a very close connections to the ocean ranger,that affected my family in a devastating way I lost my two brother cousins ,as a child I spent many child hood times in the community of Botwood nl. With the Ledrew brothers my first cousins, I have many childhood memories,with all the ledrew family.( valentine day always bring my memories back to Robert and Harold Ledrew.😢Boys may you rest in peace with your angel wings flying high.
I’m so sorry.
@foofookachoo1136 thanks so much,take care of yourself
Excellent, unhyped, fact-filled narration. Tragic story, masterfully told. 💥
👍🏻 thanks
Fascinating yet horrifying story told so well . How terrifying for those poor people just doing their job
My condolences to the loved ones of those perished and lost in this horrific event. I'm glad there are courageous souls who venture into this line of work, and other work where you can't get a life insurance policy. It's heck of an experience, I imagine.
I appreciate your presentation, I spent a few years as Captain of Ultra Deep Water Drill Rigs and many years as a ship Captain and am happily retired now. A difficult part of the marine world to work.
Is it normal to throw a grappling hook to a man in a lifejacket?
Love this channel. Fantastic stories, incredibly illustrated.
Worked offshore oil from 1980 to 2010. Rode out a few hurricanes because they waited too long to evacuate us. It was a damn rodeo man. You could hear things breaking outside and if you opened the door, every piece of paper would get sucked outside.
This is terrifying. I nevwr heard of one of these floating mini cities capsizing. Most burn up and sink. Makes me instantly think of the Andrea Gayle navigating the monster waves.
Once again thank you for the great research and delivery of the story. Seriously always on the edge of my seat. Sunday mornings wake up and look for new Waterline Stories video.
Thanks. They’re gonna be a little staggered for a few weeks. Been working on a long one.
That's awesome. Watching and then learning from these videos had opened up a whole new hobbie with learning more about cave diving. I've probably watched each video at least 5 times. Byford dolphin probably 20 times. It's insane
🤣
In 1980 the Alexander Keiland was another semi-sub that capsized in Norwegian waters. 123 were killed
Made me wonder if this happened in the same storm as the Andrea gayle loss also ? Excellent video ! Perhaps the writer will answer that question - he seems to be replying here !
Its good to have properly researched info still out here!
Negligence pure and simple. No other reason or excuse. I worked in the offshore oil industry for over 30 years.
Very sad account of an ill-fated vessel that seemed to create more death even after it sunk ?!? Thanks for sharing these in the somber way that you do - no sensationalism - it respects the memory of those who served and allows us to discover their livelihood and pay our respects as best we can after the fact...and...it does help us understand and respect the work and sacrifices of these brave workers.
Another brilliant episode, delivering storytelling in style.
👍🏻
I was in St. John's when it happened. I saw the helicopters heading out and back. Snow in town closed schools and business. (not unusual for St. John's). This video does a good job of knitting together a lot of the details...Might want to stress it was February, and what the temperature was.
This is one of the tragedies I read about in an excellent book by James Chiles: 'Inviting Disaster: Lessons from the Edge of Technology.' What impacted me the most in this case were completely non-technical factors such as the workers routinely treating the lifeboat drills like a fun time to clown around. Fast forward to the handful that made it into the least damaged lifeboat - they were so undisciplined that they each attempted to jump for the rescue ship too early and drowned only meters from rescue, leaving behind no survivors of the Ocean Ranger.
"Not even their faith..."
I like what you did there.
It was nice to hear some of your credentials in this one. Subscribed!
Well done on another captivating video - never heard of this unfortunate event before this. Very tragic indeed, but often a great tragedy is that those taken by the sea are forgotten as big corporates are all too eager to keep moving on without much disruption, by sharing this tale I feel like we can all remember those lost. Thank you for your impactful content.
🤜🏻
Coincidentally I got your video suggested right after watching the Brick Immortar video on the same accident. It is also very interesting (also more in depth but obviously also longer) and just want to say I especially love your diving videos and they Sean where you’re especially at the peak of your knowledge and experience.
Thanks. 🤜🏻
Your phone heard what you were watching. It was no coincidence
I was on days off in St Johns. Normal drilling operations were not ongoing. They were hung off. My friend was the Mobil rep on board and he was highly trained and experienced. Certainly there some design flaws. But i say again, not one of the 3 rigs in the area was drilling that night. They were all hung off. Precious few people know of the heroism on that night from the supply boat captains, the helo pilots and no doubt on the Ranger herself. There wasnt anyone in St Johns that wasnt affected by this. Its easy to pontificate on a post like this, but for heavens sake, be sure of your facts.
Reg Eliss… hi
As I watch your video my mind takes me to what it must’ve been like that night. And then I read the stories posted by people who were there. And then I realize it was even worse than I could’ve imagined.
Such loss. Such tragedy 😢
Omg , some people just don't know how dangerous the sea can be . I went fishing on a charter boat back in 1986 with family and friends , the boat was crowded with other fishermen . A storm hit us as if we were fishing but it wasn't bad yet , Yet ha , that storm hit us out of nowhere with waves of 20ft and higher . It was one scary evening that I would never forget . So my condolences to all 87 families and I am deeply sorry for your loss , may they all rest in peace 🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️ .
One for each man. Nice
When this first went down the reports I read said the port hole was not broken but was left open by mistake
An unbelievably cursed vessel. Few human beings have experienced the sheer terror did these unfortunate souls prior to their leaving this world. Absolutely horrific.
Thank you for telling these stories. Incredible.
Wow, just horrifying. I could not imagine what those men were going through. The total scope of the tragedy was not mentioned all those years ago. Utterly terrifying.
I found these videos a few days ago and I’ve been binging videos about maritime disasters, something I never even considered before. Some of the mayday calls are near traumatizing.
Excellent job of relating such a large scale tragedy.