Offshore Disaster on a Fixed Installation — The Piper Alpha Disaster of 6 July 1988

Abstract

On the night of July 6,1988, a massive explosion wrecked a major North Sea oil platform, about 300 km out at sea. The nearest main hospital is in Aberdeen, which is also the main center for controlling the North Sea oil industry. The communication links to the oil installations are extremely sophisticated. Aberdeen airport is also the largest helicopter airport in the world, and there are Air Force and Royal Navy patrols in the North Sea. Each major installation has its own supply and rescue ships circling around it. And, finally , there are specially designed firefighting and hospital ships equipped with operating facilities, which also operate around the North Sea. On the night of the disaster in question, the Tharos, a hospital, firefighting, rescue ship was very close to the scene of the accident. It so happens that at the time of the incident, a video film was made of the explosion . The film was made by the marine police, and it shows some of the emergency organization and how they coped with this disaster. There is one point I wish to make