Ocean Ranger Disaster
Background
The Ocean Ranger was a semi-submersible mobile
offshore drilling unit, designed and owned by
ODECO, an oil drilling company based out of New
Orleans. The vessel was a self-propelled large
semi-submersible design with a drilling facility and
living quarters. It was capable of drilling to a
maximum ocean depth of 7,600 m. It was
constructed in Japan in 1976 by Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries. It floated on two 120 m long pontoons
that rested 24 m below the ocean surface. It had
previously been operated off the coasts of Alaska,
New Jersey and Ireland, but in late 1980, it was
moved to the Grand Banks off the east coast of
Newfoundland.
The Night of the Disaster
On the late night of February 14th, 1982, all drilling
rigs along the Grand Banks area received reports of
an approaching storm linked to a major Atlantic
cyclone. The storm developed quicker than
expected, and at around 8pm, radio transmissions
were heard from Ocean Ranger, describing a broken
porthole window and water in the ballast control
room due to a rogue wave. Almost 5 hours later, at
around 12:52am, a mayday call was sent out from
Ocean Ranger, noting a severe list to the port side of
the rig and requesting immediate assistance. The
M/V Seaforth Highlander, was requested to come in
close in case the rig needed to be abandoned.
The Night of the Disaster (Cont)
After the Seaforth Highlander began to
approach the rig, the onshore Mobil Oil
supervisor was notified of the situation, and the
Canadian Forces and Mobil operated helicopters
were dispatched just after 1am. The M/V
Boltentor and the M/V Nordertor, standby boats
of two other nearby rigs, were also dispatched
to Ocean Ranger to provide assistance. At
1:30am, the Ocean Ranger transmitted its last
radio message: "There will be no further radio
communications from Ocean Ranger. We are
going to lifeboat stations." The crew then
abandoned the platform. None of them were
successfully rescued.
Why?
After investigation, it was determined by a board of
investigators that the cause of the Ocean Ranger’s
sinking was due to a large rogue wave which struck
the side of the ship and broke a glass porthole,
which was supposed to be closed over by a metal
shield. The broken porthole allowed sea water to
enter the ballast control room. The ballast control
panel then malfunctioned, and as a result, several
valves in the platform's ballast control system were
opened, either due to a short circuit, or were
manually opened by the crew.
Why? (Continued)
As a result of the valves opening, the
Ocean Ranger assumed a forward list,
which allowed seawater to begin
flooding the forward chain lockers
located in the forward corner support
columns, worsening the list. This
progressive flooding of the chain
lockers and subsequent flooding of
the upper deck resulted in a loss of
buoyancy great enough to cause the
platform to capsize.
The Impact
All 84 workers aboard the rig were killed. While the rig was
provided with an Emergency Procedures Manual which detailed
evacuation procedures, it is unclear how effectively the platform
evacuation was carried out. At least one lifeboat was
successfully launched, and the M/V Seaforth Highlander
reported seeing at least 20 people in the water. The United
States Coast Guard report speculated that these men either
chose to enter the water directly or were thrown into the water
as a result of the weather. Rescue attempts by the nearby
vessels were impeded by the harsh conditions. The lifeboat
capsized during an attempt to tie it to the Seaforth Highlander,
throwing the men on board into the water. Due to the severe
weather, the first helicopter did not arrive on scene until 2:30am,
by which time all of Ocean Ranger's crew had either succumbed
to hypothermia or drowned. Over the next week, 22 bodies were
recovered from the North Atlantic.
The Impact (Continued)
The remains of the platform were found by
sonar over the next week, resting upside down
approximately 30m below sea level. Concerns
over the wreck's position were raised by the
federal government, as the relatively shallow
position of the wreck posed a danger to nearby
ships. In August 1983, the wreck of Ocean
Ranger was refloated and towed upside down
to deeper waters, with only the rig’s two
pontoons breaking the surface. Salvage was
considered too expensive, so the wreck was
resunk deeper out to sea. Three salvage divers
were killed during the operation.
Safety Measures
A Canadian Royal Commission spent two years looking
into the disaster. They found that the Ocean Ranger
crew were not properly trained, that the safety
equipment was inadequate, that there were no proper
safety protocols for the supply ship, and that the
platform itself had a number of flaws. The commission
also concluded that inspection by United States and
Canadian government agencies was ineffective. In
addition to key recommendations for Canada's offshore
oil and gas industry, the commission recommended
that the federal government invest annually in research
and development for search and rescue technologies,
such as improving the design of lifesaving equipment.
Many of these policies are in place today.
Today
Lawsuits filed against both the rig operating
companies and the government from the families of
those killed in the sinking were settled out of court
with a package collectively worth $20 million. A
permanent memorial to the victims was erected on
the grounds of the Confederation Building. Multiple
pieces of media were made about the disaster,
including the 1987 play “Jewel,” which is about the
widow of one of the men who drowned in the
disaster. The 2009 novel “February,” also depicts
the life of a woman whose husband died aboard the
oil rig. Canadian folk singer Ron Hynes wrote a
song titled "Atlantic Blue" in 1988 as a tribute to the
lost crew.
