This Wave Killed ALL 84 Men!

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

Channel: Waterline Stories

Views: 1,619,553

Keywords: accidents, Thalassophobia, oil platform, ocean ranger

Id: dcvLUZ2TQF4

Length: 15min 21sec (921 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 23 2023