Ocean ranger

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The Ocean Ranger was a large drilling platform operated by the Ocean Drilling and Exploration Company (ODECO) in the Northwest Atlantic , 315 kilometers southeast of St. John's near the Grand Banks . She was damaged by waves in a storm and sank on February 15, 1982. All 84 crew members died.

The Ocean Ranger was the largest oil rig at the time. It was 121.5 meters long and 90.7 meters wide. The working platform was 46.2 meters above the keel. It was built in 1976 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan . Its area of ​​operation was initially off the coasts of Alaska , New Jersey and Ireland until it was brought to the Grand Banks in November 1980. Since it was believed to be unsinkable due to its size, it was used in areas that were too dangerous for smaller oil rigs.

The catastrophe

Position (3) and height (2) of the ballast tank control room. For comparison an 18.5 m high wave (1).

On Sunday, February 14, 1982, a winter storm with wind speeds of up to 185 km / h moved from Newfoundland towards the Grand Banks.

At 7:00 p.m. the Ocean Ranger ( position coordinates: 46 ° 43 ′ 31.2 ″  N , 48 ° 50 ′ 3 ″  W ) reported waves up to 20 meters ("55 to about 65 feet ") high, that hit the platform. A wave hit the ballast tank control room, which was just nine meters above sea level. As the steel sea ​​dash was not installed, water penetrated the control room and caused a short circuit . As a result of the failure of the pumps, the platform was in a threatening position. The attempt to dry the switching relays and put the control back into operation failed. The crew tried to start the pumps by hand. However, since any operating instructions were missing for ballast tank system even more was the wrong operation flip side of the platform caused.

On February 15 at 1:30 a.m., orders were given to vacate the platform. However, as a result of inadequate safety drills, panic broke out on board and many of the crew members jumped from the platform instead of going to the lifeboats. Rescue attempts by helicopters and the supply ship Seaforth Highlander were unsuccessful because of the rough seas.

At 3:38 a.m., the oil rig sank to the bottom of the Grand Banks.

The causes of the disaster were then carefully analyzed and led to a significant improvement in the training of the crews and to new, safety-relevant technologies on drilling rigs.

See also

Web links

Commons : Ocean Ranger  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) Ocean Ranger, ON 615641, Capsizing and Sinking in the Atlantic Ocean on February 15th 1982 with Multiple Loss of Life. (PDF, 2.8 MiB) Casualty Summary. United States Coast Guard, May 20, 1983, p. 25 , accessed February 15, 2017 .
  2. ^ Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) Ocean Ranger, ON 615641, Capsizing and Sinking in the Atlantic Ocean on February 15th 1982 with Multiple Loss of Life. (PDF, 2.8 MiB) Evening Events. United States Coast Guard, May 20, 1983, pp. 79-80 , accessed on February 15, 2017 (English): “… the maximum combined seas were in the 55 foot, the odd wave going up in the 65-foot range. "