This Wave Killed All 84 Men
Summary
TLDRThe Ocean Ranger, a massive semi-submersible oil rig, faced a severe winter storm in the Grand Banks off Newfoundland in 1982. Despite its design to withstand harsh conditions, the storm overwhelmed the rig, causing a rogue wave to flood its ballast control room. This led to a loss of stability, a mayday call, and ultimately, the rig capsized with the tragic loss of all 84 crew members. The incident highlighted the perils of offshore drilling and the importance of rigorous safety measures.
Takeaways
- 🌊 The Ocean Ranger was a self-propelled, semi-submersible offshore drilling rig capable of operating in severe weather conditions.
- 📏 It was the world's largest semi-submersible platform at the time of its construction, weighing almost 25,000 tons.
- 📍 Located in the Grand Banks, an area known for rich oil and gas reserves but also severe weather conditions.
- ⚠️ On February 14, 1982, the crew received forecasts of an approaching severe winter storm linked to a major Atlantic Cyclone.
- 🛠 The rig was designed to handle winds up to 100 knots and waves up to 110 feet high, but the storm exceeded these limits.
- 🌀 A rogue wave hit the rig, damaging the ballast control room and causing seawater to flood the control center.
- 💡 The ballast control system was critical for maintaining the rig's stability, but it malfunctioned due to the flood.
- 🚨 The crew tried to manually control the ballast tanks, but they were untrained in manual override procedures.
- 🆘 A Mayday call was made, and support vessels were alerted, but the severe list of the rig made evacuation extremely difficult.
- 🔍 Despite rescue efforts, all 84 crew members were lost, and only 22 bodies were recovered.
- 💸 The rig was eventually re-floated and sunk in deeper water, but the salvage operation resulted in additional fatalities.
Q & A
What type of oil rig was the Ocean Ranger?
-The Ocean Ranger was a self-propelled, semi-submersible offshore drilling rig.
Who owned and operated the Ocean Ranger?
-The Ocean Ranger was owned by Ocean Drilling and Exploration (ODECO) and chartered to Mobile Oil Canada, a subsidiary of the American company Mobile Corporation.
What was the significance of the Grand Banks in relation to the Ocean Ranger?
-The Grand Banks is an area in the North Atlantic Ocean known for its rich oil and gas reserves. The Ocean Ranger was working in this area, specifically at the Hibernia oilfield.
What was the weather forecast for the Grand Banks on February 14, 1982?
-On February 14, 1982, the weather forecast for the Grand Banks predicted a severe winter storm linked to a major Atlantic Cyclone.
What was the designed capability of the Ocean Ranger in terms of withstanding weather conditions?
-The Ocean Ranger was designed to handle winds up to 100 knots and waves up to 110 feet high.
What happened to the Ocean Ranger during the storm on the night of February 14, 1982?
-A rogue wave hit the Ocean Ranger, shattering a porthole window in the ballast control room, causing seawater to flood the room and malfunction the ballast control system.
What was the critical failure that led to the Ocean Ranger's instability?
-The critical failure was the flooding of the ballast control room, which led to the malfunction of the ballast control system, causing the rig to become progressively unstable.
What emergency procedures did the crew attempt to implement?
-The crew tried to manually control the ballast tanks, halted all drilling operations, prepared for potential evacuation, shut down non-essential systems, and shared the drill string and cut away from the blowout preventer.
What was the final fate of the Ocean Ranger?
-The Ocean Ranger capsized and sank on February 15, 1982, at 0313, resulting in the loss of all 84 crew members.
What were the challenges faced by the rescue teams during the incident?
-Rescue teams faced extreme weather conditions with high winds, rough seas, and poor visibility, which made it difficult to reach the Ocean Ranger and evacuate the crew.
What was the aftermath of the Ocean Ranger disaster in terms of salvage and recovery?
-The wreckage of the Ocean Ranger was located and re-floated for sinking in deeper water. During salvage operations, three divers lost their lives in separate incidents.
Outlines
🌊 Ocean Ranger's Design and Storm Challenge
The Ocean Ranger, a self-propelled semi-submersible drilling rig, is designed to withstand severe weather conditions. It operates in the Grand Banks, known for its oil reserves and harsh weather. The rig is massive, weighing almost 25,000 tons, and is equipped with ballast tanks for stability. Despite being designed to handle extreme conditions, it faces a powerful storm linked to an Atlantic Cyclone. The crew, confident in the rig's capabilities, prepares for the storm by securing equipment and managing the ballast tanks. However, a rogue wave hits another rig, foreshadowing the severity of the situation.
💡 Rig's Stability Compromised by Rogue Wave
A rogue wave shatters a porthole in the ballast control room of the Ocean Ranger, causing seawater to flood the room and malfunction the electronic equipment. This leads to a loss of control over the rig's stability as the ballast system fails. The crew struggles to manually control the ballast tanks amidst worsening conditions. The rig begins to list severely, and emergency procedures are initiated, including halting drilling operations and preparing for potential evacuation. Despite efforts, the situation becomes dire as the rig's list increases, and support vessels are alerted for assistance.
🚨 Abandonment and Rescue Efforts
As the Ocean Ranger lists severely, the crew faces the terrifying prospect of abandoning the rig. They prepare lifeboats and essential survival gear amidst rising panic. The Seaforth Highlander, a support vessel, arrives to find bodies floating in the water and attempts a rescue, but the conditions are too severe. The rig's lifeboats are difficult to launch due to the list, and the rescue efforts are hampered by extreme weather. A rescue helicopter's attempt to retrieve a survivor is unsuccessful due to the harsh conditions, and the search turns into a recovery operation after the rig capsizes.
🕊 Aftermath and Salvage
The Ocean Ranger's capsizing results in the loss of all 84 crew members. Only 22 bodies are recovered. The rig's wreckage is located, and it's decided to re-float and sink it in deeper water due to the hazard it poses. During salvage operations, three divers lose their lives in separate incidents, increasing the death toll to 87. The incident highlights the extreme dangers faced by offshore oil rig workers and the tragic consequences of the Ocean Ranger disaster.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Ocean-going oil platforms
💡Semi-submersible
💡Ballast tanks
💡Grand Banks
💡Rogue wave
💡List (tilting)
💡Mayday call
💡Evacuation
💡Salvage
💡Blowout preventer
Highlights
The Ocean Ranger was a self-propelled, semi-submersible offshore drilling rig owned by Ocean Drilling and Exploration (ODECO) and chartered to Mobile Oil Canada.
At the time of its construction, the Ocean Ranger was the world's largest semi-submersible platform, weighing almost 25,000 tons and capable of drilling in ocean depths of 1500 feet.
The rig was designed to withstand severe weather conditions, including winds up to 100 knots and waves up to 110 feet high.
On February 14, 1982, the crew received weather forecasts predicting a severe winter storm approaching the Grand Banks.
Despite the storm's severity, the crew had confidence in the rig's ability to handle it, as it had withstood harsh conditions before.
Standard procedures for preparing for severe weather included securing equipment, sealing doors and portholes, and managing ballast tanks for stability.
A rogue wave hit the nearby Sidco 706 rig, damaging deck gear and washing away a lifeboat, indicating the severity of the storm.
The Ocean Ranger continued drilling operations despite the deteriorating weather, reflecting the offshore industry's commitment to uninterrupted operations.
The crew had to navigate the rig in stormy weather, working to keep everything running smoothly and safely, with constant monitoring of the rig systems.
A rogue wave shattered a porthole window in the ballast control room, flooding the room with seawater and causing the system to malfunction.
The flooding of the control center led to the malfunction of key components in the ballast control system, making it impossible to maintain the rig's stability.
The crew tried to manually control the ballast tanks, but they lacked the proper training and resources to do so effectively.
Emergency procedures were implemented, including halting drilling operations and preparing for a potential evacuation.
The Ocean Ranger made a Mayday call, and support vessels and helicopters were alerted to provide assistance.
Rescue teams faced extreme conditions, including high winds, rough seas, and poor visibility, which limited their ability to reach the Ocean Ranger.
The rig's severe list made it extremely difficult to launch lifeboats, and the crew struggled to do so amidst rising panic and confusion.
The Ocean Ranger capsized and sank at 03:13, and the search and rescue operation turned into a recovery operation.
All 84 crew members aboard the Ocean Ranger were lost, and only 22 bodies were recovered.
The salvage operation of the Ocean Ranger resulted in additional fatalities, bringing the total death toll to 87 men.
Transcripts
ocean-going oil platforms are designed
to withstand the most severe weather
conditions in the middle of the ocean
hundreds of miles from Land the crew of
the ocean Ranger put their faith in the
technology and integrity of the oil rig
but when poor training bad design and
extreme weather conditions line up not
even their faith can save them
the ocean Ranger is a self-propelled
semi-submersible offshore drilling rig
working in an area called the Grand
Banks it's owned by an American company
ocean Drilling and exploration or odeko
for short it's chartered to Mobile Oil
Canada who own the drilling rights for
Hibernia oilfield Mobile Oil Canada is a
subsidiary of the American company
mobile corporation at the time it's
built it's the world's largest
semi-submersible platform the rig weighs
almost 25
000 tons it's 396 feet long 362 feet
wide and 337 feet high making it as high
as a 30-story building of course when
it's floating almost a third of that is
below the water line it floats on two
400 foot long pontoons that lie 80 feet
below the water line these pontoons have
ballast tank compartments that can be
partially filled with seawater this
helps to stabilize the rig in rough Seas
it's capable of drilling in Ocean depths
of 1500 feet the grand Banks lie in the
North Atlantic Ocean 166 miles east of
Saint John's Newfoundland in Canada it's
known for its Rich oil and gas reserves
it's also known for its severe weather
conditions particularly in Winter and
the ocean depths in the area range from
100 feet to 600 feet on the morning of
the 14th of February 1982 84 crew
members aboard the ocean Ranger receive
weather forecasts that predicts a severe
winter storm is rapidly approaching the
grand Banks the storm is linked to a
major Atlantic Cyclone this time of year
the region is often subjected to extreme
weather events and this incoming storm
is forecast to be particularly powerful
the ocean Ranger is designed to weather
such an extreme storm the rigs
previously withstood harsh conditions
leading the crew and the rigs operators
to have confidence in its ability to
handle this storm the crew of the ocean
ranges start to prepare for the severe
weather standard procedures involve
securing any loose equipment checking
that all weather tight doors and
portholes are sealed and ensuring the
stability of the rig by managing its
ballast tanks the ballast control system
is critical in maintaining the rig
stability it regulates the amount of
water in the ballast tanks located
beneath the rig allowing the rig to
adjust its buoyancy instability in
response to the sea conditions in
preparation for the storm the crew
checked the system thoroughly even
though they start making these necessary
precautions there's no immediate cause
for concern they know the rigs weathered
these storms before despite the expected
severity of this storm regular
operations on the rig continue as the
evening sets in the storm reaches the
ocean Ranger high winds and towering
waves dwarf the immense size of the
ocean Ranger it's designed to handle
winds up to 100 knots and waves up to
110 feet high but this storm is proving
to be extraordinarily powerful with
waves that go beyond the Riggs
calculated limits at 1900 a rogue wave
hits a nearby rig the sidco 706 which is
also operated by mobile the wave damages
deck gear and washes away a Lifeboat
despite the deteriorating weather and
increasing sea State the ocean Ranger
continues its drilling operations the
crew have faith in the rig and the
culture of the offshore industry is that
interruptions to operations are avoided
at all costs however the conditions are
becoming challenging the crew have to
navigate the rig in the stormy weather
working to keep everything running
smoothly and safely this requires
constant monitoring of the rig systems
especially the ballast control system
that is crucial to maintaining the rig
stability in the turbulent sea
communication with the shore also
continues reporting on the rig status
and the evolving situation this
commitment to continuing operations in
spite of the declining weather
conditions goes to show the level of
confidence they have in the ocean ranges
design and capabilities or perhaps Their
Fear of reprisals for abandoning their
station
55 to 65 foot waves batter the ocean
Ranger a rogue wave slams into the
ranger just past midnight this Rogue
Wave is significantly larger than other
waves in the storm which are already
pushing the ranger to its calculated
limits the wave strikes with such force
that it shatters the glass of a porthole
window in the ballast control room the
nerve center responsible for maintaining
the rig stability the porthole is only
25 feet above the water line with each
subsequent wave sea water pours into the
room through the broken portal this room
is filled with the electronic equipments
and control panels that control the
ballast tank systems with seawater
flooding the control center system start
and malfunction almost immediately the
sea water causes significant electrical
shorts within the system leading to the
malfunction of key components in the
ballast control system at 2100 the setco
706 radio operator picks up radio
communication on the ocean Ranger
describing how valves on Ocean ranges
ballast systems appear to be opening and
closing on their own the crew can't
control the rigs list and trim and it
becomes progressively more unstable
while the crew tried to manually control
the ballast the storm gets worse and
more sea water pours into the control
center without the ability to properly
control the ballast tanks the rig starts
to list or tilt towards the front of the
rig this means that as the rig rides
into the oncoming waves its bow is
riding lower into each subsequent wave
which pushes it further into the water
rather than riding up and over the
oncoming waves water starts to flood the
forward chain Lockers in the corner
support columns the crew operating the
bat control have several disadvantages
water is wreaking havoc with the
automatic control system but they don't
have the proper training to know how to
manually control the system they don't
even have a manual to look up how to
override the automatic system and take
manual control that might not matter
anyway as the bow dips it forces the
stern higher out of the water the
ballast control pumps are in the stern
of the vessel as the bow sinks and the
stern Rises the ballast pumps don't have
the power to pump water up such a long
incline and out at the stern the degree
of listing increases with every passing
hour the crew begin to implement
emergency procedures these are sets of
predefined actions designed to regain
control over the rig stability and
prevents a complete disaster they
unsuccessfully try to manually control
the ballast tanks they halt all drilling
operations and prepare for a potential
evacuation they shut down all
non-essential systems and operations on
the rig in order to focus all resources
on crisis management they share the
drill string and cut away from the
blowout preventer something the
Deepwater Horizon wasn't able to do I'll
leave a link to that video here while
the crew are experienced and they've
been trained for emergency situations
the combination of a severe storm
malfunctioning equipment and a listing
rig creates an exceptionally challenging
and dangerous situation at 0052 the
ocean Ranger makes a Mayday call standby
support vessel Seaforth Highlander is
requested to come in close
countermeasures against the 10 to 15
degree list are proving ineffective
Canadian Coast Guard and mobile operated
helicopters are alerted just after 0-100
hospitals in St John's are put on
standby the support vessels Bolton tour
and norditor the standby vessels of
sidco 706 and Zapata ukland are
sequestered by the Canadian Coast Guard
to provide assistance in an emergency
situation coast guards have the right to
take control of a vessel at Sea in order
to assist in emergency I've been
sequestered in the waters around Cape
Town when a small boat lost its engines
the Coast Guard directed my crew and I
to the area but by the time we got there
another larger vessel arrived on the
scene who was more capable of assisting
than the sailboat I was in
the support vessels approaching the
ocean Ranger are experiencing the same
winter storm as the ocean Ranger high
winds rough seas and poor visibility
create dangerous conditions that limits
the ability of the rescue teams to reach
the ranger they must navigate through
the violent storm reach the increasingly
unstable ocean Ranger and then Evacuate
the crew in extremely challenging
conditions every minute counts at 0-130
Ocean Ranger transmits its last message
there will be no further radio
communications from the ocean Ranger we
are going to Lifeboat stations
abandoning any boats in the ocean is a
big decision today the rule of thumb is
that you step up onto your life raft
which means your boat has already sunk
beneath you but to evacuate an offshore
oil rig adds several dimensions of
complexity Gathering essential survival
gear ensuring All crew members have life
jackets and readying the lifeboats for
evacuation all while a rig is tilting
abandoning the rig is the last resort
for the crew it means leaving the
perceived safety of the rig and facing
the harsh elements of the storm in a
Lifeboat it must be terrifying to climb
off a huge vessel that's been destroyed
by the storm and climb into a tiny boat
that by comparison is the size of a
bathtub these preparations are taking
place amidst Rising panic and confusion
with the crew acutely aware that their
lives hang in the ballots lifeboats are
designed to be launched even in extreme
conditions but the severe list of the
ocean Ranger makes it extremely
difficult the crew struggle to launch
them against the tilts of the rig the
intense wind and the Monstrous waves the
Riggs lifeboats are designed to use a
gravity drop system and so the rig needs
to be relatively level for them to
launch the crew managed to launch at
least one Lifeboat the Seaforth
Highlander sport vessel arrives on the
scene they can see bodies floating in
the water a Lifeboat with eight or nine
men approaches them the Lifeboat steams
across the stern and pulls alongside
their port quarter the Seaforth is able
to throw lines to the life raft before
they can bring anyone on board the life
raft is battered against the hull of the
seaport Highlander and collapses the men
in the water cling to the Lifeboat which
remains overturned the Seaforth fights
its way through the swell and wind to
reach the men they slowly succumb to the
cold only one man is seen wearing an
orange survival suit the Seaforth
Maneuvers into position and narrowly
misses chopping him up in its propellers
the crew on Deck throw a grappling hook
to try and pull the man onto the boat it
hooks his life jacket but the man slips
below the waterline it's simply not
possible to pull men from the water in
such rough conditions with the equipment
and deck setup they have rescue teams
from the Coast Guard Merchant vessels
Supply boats from other oil rigs
aircraft and helicopters descend on the
scene rescue workers battle against
towering waves freezing temperatures and
powerful winds as they search for
survivors at 0-230 the first rescue
helicopter arrives on the scene Captain
Mike Clark the pilot of the search and
rescue helicopter from Gander lowers
search and rescue technician Master
Corporal Randy Brown from a 24 meter
cable into the freezing water and
Howling Gale to try and retrieve the
first man they see he's already dead
snow and waves estimated at 16 meters
make their efforts impossible it's the
first and last Airborne rescue attempt
the conditions are too dangerous flying
over the search area Rescue helicopters
fight against winds approaching 90 miles
an hour The Heavy Seas make body
recovery impossible Captain Clark
instead tries to guide the support
vessels to Bodies In The Water it
quickly becomes clear that the supply
ship are having to fight for their own
Survival sending men out on Deck to
recover bodies is a suicide mission a
rescue helicopter lands for refueling on
another rig the rig is pitching
violently in The Heavy Seas the
helicopter crew becomes seasick to the
point they have to abandon the refueling
and return to their base on land the
rigs severe list deteriorates until it
reaches a critical point where the rig
is no longer stable at 0313 the ocean
Ranger capsizes and sinks below the
water line the search and rescue
operation turns into a recovery
operation in the days that follow debris
and personal effects from the ocean
Ranger wash up on the Newfoundland Coast
even though hospitals in Saint John's
are on standby not one patient from the
ocean Ranger is admitted all 84 crew
members aboard the ocean Ranger are lost
only 22 bodies of the 84 crew are
recovered they're brought to year 17 in
Saint John's Harbor newspaper reporters
are held back so that no photographs can
be taken a Russian trawler mechanic
tarasov sinks in the same storm the
bodies of the Russian seamen are brought
to the same Pier off duty ocean Ranger
crew members were asked to check the
Russian bodies to make sure no men from
the ocean Ranger were accidentally sent
to Russia after the storm has passed
sonar and underwater rovs are used to
locate the wreckage of the ocean Ranger
on the sea floor the rig lies in water
around 100 feet deep it's decided that
this shallow depth poses a hazard for
marine traffic and so the rig will be
re-floated and sunk in deeper water a
European company is given the contract
to salvage the rig during these
operations two divers are sent to
recover fuel from tanks in the Pontoon
they cut into the Pontoon using a
cutting torch gases from the fuel
ignites creating an explosion killing
the two divers another diver is killed a
week later when a large piece of metal
debris falls from the Salvage ship and
crushes him against the sunken rig
bringing the total death toll of the
ocean Ranger to 87 men
foreign
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