Tag: The Piper Alpha disaster

Extreme weather conditions, dangerous cargoes, piracy and terrorism, navigation challenges, equipment failures, and human factors, such as fatigue, mental exhaustion or poor judgment, make shipping a safety-challenged, or even hazardous, industry. This makes the safety culture a vital concept for shipping organizations that wish to reduce the risk of incidents. Have you ever heard of Hudson Safety Ladder?

Piper Alpha ; 25 years on Piper Alpha was aNorth Sea oil production platform operated byOccidental Petroleum (Caledonia) Ltd.The platform began production in 1976,first as an oil platform and then later converted to gas production. An explosion and the resulting oil and gas fires destroyed it on 6 July 1988, killing 167 men,with only 61 survivors.The death toll includes two crewmen of a rescue vessel.Total insured loss was about 1.7 billion (US$3.4 billion). At the time of the disaster, the platform accounted for approximately ten percent ofNorth Sea oil and gas production, and was the worst offshore oil disaster in terms of lives lost and industry impact.The Cullen Inquiry was set up in November 1988 to establish the cause of the disaster.After 180 days of proceedings, it released its reportPublic Inquiry into the Piper Alpha Disaster (short:Cullen Report) in November 1990. It concluded that the initial condensate leak was the result of maintenance work being carried out simultaneously on a pump and relatedsafety valve.The inquiry was critical ofPiper Alpha's operator, Occidental, which was found guilty of having inadequate maintenance and safety procedures, but no criminal charges were ever brought against the company.The second part of the report made 106 recommendations ...

Remembering Piper - The night that changed our world

Explosion in the North Sea

The Piper Alpha disaster 25 years on

Fire in the Night