It made 136 recommendations to prevent future incidents, including better training, design and safety equipment for rigs. Later, a royal commission concluded that “a chain of events, which resulted from human error, design inadequacies and deficiencies within the management system, coincident with severe storm conditions” caused the disaster.

This lifeboat was later seen during rescue operations, but again it could not be reached. All 84 workers aboard the Ocean Ranger died. The boat floated away before anyone could be rescued. The lifeboat came close to reaching its supply vessel, but a line between the vessels snapped in the storm. After staying afloat for 1.5 hours, the rig sank between 3:07 am and 3:13 am, leaving at least 20 crew in the water. Only one lifeboat with 36 crew members inside could successfully launch. Mayday calls began ten minutes later, and the rigs final transmission came at 1.30 am, saying crew had moved to lifeboats. Soon after, the ballast control panel was noticed to be malfunctioning.Īt 1:00 am, the Ocean Ranger’s senior manager radioed the shore to say the rig had started listing, and that the standby vessel should move closer to its position. However, the crew did not believe this to be serious. Later, the Ranger’s crew confirmed that a porthole window had broken, allowing water to enter the ship’s ballast control room. These nearby rigs later overheard radio chatter speaking of damage to the Ocean Ranger. Nearby rigs reported unusually large waves. The day before the disaster, a strong storm developed, producing winds of 190km/h and waves up to 20m high. (ODECO) to use the rig for an exploration well on the Hibernia field. Mobil Oil of Canada hired rig owner Ocean Drilling and Exploration Co. The semi-submersible mobile oil drilling could operate 1,500ft underwater, drilling up to 25,000 ft below the seabed. They were aboard the rig when it capsized and sank in the North Atlantic Sea, off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.Īt the time, the 25,000t rig was the largest of its kind, measuring 396 ft long, 262 ft wide, and 337 ft tall. Febru| Susan Napier-Sewell Remembering an Accident: Ocean Ranger Oil Rig Disaster Early in the morning of February 15, 1982, 84 crew members died in the Ocean Ranger disaster.

Oil rig lifeboat