Piper Alpha

I remember that horrific night well i sat in my radio room at home listening to it unfold.It featured in the TV series RESCUE and in Paul Berriffs Book on the series. It still brings a chill to my spine even today.Am i right in thinking that months later when they got on board the remains of the radio operator were found still in position in the radio room or is that an urban myth. RIP to all those brave souls on board PIPER ALPHA who died you are always in our prayers and will never be forgotten.

Paul is a really nice guy, as well as a brilliant film maker he was also an Auxiliary Coastguard at HMCG Hessle. I knew his boss very well, He got Paul to sign his book for me. On a historic note one of the winchmen Gramps Challis from Lossiemouth also became a coastie when he retired from the RAF.

#41. Roger I put a post up about Paul some time back and Quiete agree on your sentiments. I have Rescue , the book of the major Documentary series , its a bit dilapitated by now but has the Piper Alpha among all the filming he did elsewhere. I also believe he was in New York when the twin towers came down. Apart from a Bafta Award winner as you say a Gentleman and a scholar. No modern cameras for him, all the old fashioned lens etc. it must have cost him a fortune for freight alone when flying. He was also awarded the OBE which was well earned. Think if I remember correctly he was a member of one of the Humber lifeboats at one time. Cheers

Have just returned from a Baltic cruise.
Saw a number of off shore oil and gas rigs in the seas around there.'
Just seeing their position and again reading about the Piper alpha incident make me better understand how traumatic and devastating that night must have been.

How any one survived is indeed a miracle.

Welcome home John.
Des

#44 Don’t know what hire hates are like today but anyone wanting to know only had to look at the rates in Loyds list at the time, in the latter part of the 1980s in the North Sea a semi submersible was on , an average of 100,000 pounds a day similar for a jack up. This was payable as long as the rig was on exploration. Thus the actual drilling part of the operation always had first say and everything was done to cut the drilling time to as least as possible. Anyone aware of the huge costs involved must also be aware that workers for the oil companies if they are not in agreeance with the effort for such companies continuing in business will have to remain loyal to the same or otherwise out of a job. I can’t say it was 100 % in shipping though , the shipowner when his profits weren’t large enough , most had the gumption to get out of a failing industry and seek a cheaper labour force which was minute compared to other expenses involved in shipping. 1966 had a way to go at the time, but the writing was on the wall. JS

DAY-RATES. When I retired and left Seadril in Feb 2015 the day rate for the West Tellus a 6th Generation 2xDerrik Drillship were $600,000 a day. One hour downtime were $25,000 so panic whenever the drillfloor shutdown. Spent 2 years in the Samsung shipyard at Geoje Island, Korea doing commissioning work on newbuilds when two of the class West Vela and West Auriga suffered lots of downtime in the Mexican Gulf, it were decided that when the West Tellus sailed, 60% of the technical staff who had did the commissioning, sailed with the vessel and if my addled memory serves me correct we set a record for arrival and spudding.

PIPER ALPHA Were Chief Electrician on the Tharos after the disaster, watched from a distance the remnants of Piper being explosively cut to collapse and sink it. Signed the Cullen report for the Tharos on behalf of Elf Caledonia who bought out Occidental and where astonished they had a semi (Tharos) included in the purchase.
My late friend Findlay Simpson RIP, told me the real reason for the delay on the 4 x 4.16Kv fire fighting pumps being put into operation and water onto Piper Alpha. Lord Cullen went with the information given, he were never lied or deceived only he never got 100% what happened.

Thanks your confirmation of the huge amounts of money invested in the offshore industry and all the people who it is their livelihood . The barge master of the Tharos who was an Australian ,not the OIM, towards the end of the long enquiry and think they had forgotten about me, and it suited me as All I wanted was to forget, which over the years has been impossible to do. Anyhow came up to me and advised not to give them any unasked for information otherwise would be detained at their leisure so I did as he suggested I spent 10 minutes saying yes or no that is correct. Then released to go about my business, I had months waiting to be called and was on 3 different ships in between . One of the questions I would like to have asked was … were the exploding gas bottles which were dropping down on the area of the ship, was there any chance were these exploding bodies and had I talked myself into believing they were gas bottles. The other one was the first survivor picked up within minutes of the first explosion which for 34 years I kept my eye open as to me fitted the appearance of a terrorist. I found out months before the 35 th. Anniversary he was above my suspicious mind and was the platforms Industrial Chemist . These were just two nightmares I currently had , the first one I still do , but the Chemist is now cleared even if it did take 34 years , there are niggles but I won’t bore you. As you say 100% of any disaster never totally appears . We had a night toolpusher on a rig down here who spoke to me about his father in law then deceased who had been the OIM off the Tharus he didn’t know I had been there and probably knew as much as himself , I didn’t let on and let him think I was a true blue Aussie. Some times it’s best to let the water find its own level. Cheers JS

Yes, so correct about answering questions. Never supply what you think happened or volunteer a sequence of events that would have led to the result happening, your name would be marked. Failings of personnel onboard during the fire were never put in print
When Arnold Hammer came on the Tharos he asked to be taken to the "Occidental" company man, he were shocked to be taken to the storekeeper the only directly employed 'Oxy' man onboard. I were there with 2 Oxy OIM's, 1 Elf and 1 fill in from the agency we all worked for Asco-Smit.
Only OIM I remember were Peter Clayson who left when Elf bought out Oxy, he drove cars at dangerous speeds, had a fatal accident in the Gulf and his Golf Club asked for donations to make a Memorial Cup named after him. James Kondol were another OIM but same as me agency.
After the OIM's stopped being one of "Us" they were kept out of the information loop. When they fitted a drill tower on the Tharos to do core samples up stream of the John Brown exhausts at Piper's sister Claymore we knew the days were numbered.
Tharos were sold to Rasmussen for peanuts, but. an accommodation unit were supplied for peanuts.
Left the Tharos in Norway to join the DSV Stadive for a year until it were sold so joined Stena Drilling for the next 15 years in late 1995.
Still have the free gift from Elf a desktop paperweight showing a drop oil from Piper's replacement Piper 'B' inauguration June 1993, 30 years ago??
Wonder if worth anything???

Talking about drops of oil , there are a few on here now out of Seaforth Maritime Ltd…..Aberdeen I was still innocent enough to ask what the funnel marker represented , never forgot how it was explained by much senior members of the North Sea Chinaman Association , “ its a column of oil contained by a column of water” , or maybe the other way round today. Thought the Stadive was bought and built by Seaforth Maritime mustn’t have had enough experience offshore knowledge to be in the inner circle. ? The things we forget to remember about revealing bad news to alter a bad course which may occur distress to others if too much is said you are right . The first ones to play the cards to ones chest is of course the media , otherwise you would probably be awarded with the ace of spades and told in future keep mum , she’s cheaper to keep than Dad. How does retirement grab you these days. ? Cheers all the best . JS