The Ocean Ranger was a self-propelled, semi-submersible offshore drilling rig, for use in offshore oil exploration. At 121 meters long, 80 meters wide, and 103 meters tall, it was the largest rig of its kind in the world when it was launched in 1976. On Sunday, 14 February 1982, the Ocean Ranger was drilling at the Hibernia oil field on the Grand Banks near Newfoundland, Canada. It had 84 workers on board, including 56 Newfoundlanders. A threatening weather report forced Ocean Ranger to stop drilling in late afternoon, when it "hung off" (disconnected its drill pipe and retracted it for safety) and prepared to ride out the storm.
By 7:00 pm, two other rigs in the area, (SEDCO 706 and Zapata Ugland) reported being hit by an unusually large wave. Shortly after, the two rigs and nearby support vessels began to overhear radio chatter from the Ocean Ranger that referred to broken glass and water, and to switches and valves that seemed to be operating by themselves. Around 1:00 am on Monday morning (Feb. 15th), the senior manager on the Ocean Ranger contacted the shore to report that the rig was listing. Shortly afterwards, the Ocean Ranger called the supply vessel Seaforth Highlander (on standby for the rig in case of emergencies) and asked it to move in closer. By 1:10 am the Ocean Ranger was sending out Mayday calls. The final message received from the Ocean Ranger was at 1:30 am, when the radio operator advised that the crew were heading to lifeboat stations. The two nearby rigs dispatched their standby vessels, but because of the storm's violence, it was difficult for them to make headway. Searching for survivors proved to be even harder. The Seaforth Highlander spotted flares from a lifeboat at 2:21 am and headed towards it. The lifeboat was damaged but there were men aboard. The Seaforth Highlander was able to get a line attached to the lifeboat, and the first mate came within feet of grabbing one of the men. But the heavy seas snapped the line and capsized the lifeboat, and ultimately the Seaforth Highlander was unable to rescue even a single man. The Ocean Ranger was still afloat at 2:45 am when the supply ship Boltentor came within visual range. She was listing heavily and waves were breaking over the deck. There was no sign of any people aboard and the lifeboats were gone. Shortly afterwards the ships in the area lost radar contact with the Ocean Ranger as it finally capsized and sank.
Although the search and rescue efforts continued throughout the night and the following days, there were no survivors. Two empty life boats and several life rafts were found, along with debris such as life jackets and broken bits of foam. The lifeboat that the Seaforth Highlander had tried to rescue was later spotted by the supply ship Nordertor. The Nordertor's crew could see bodies inside, but they too were unable to recover it. The lifeboat floated away and was never found again. In the following days, ships in the area picked up 22 bodies. All of those recovered had died of drowning and hypothermia.
The loss of the Ocean Ranger affected the design and safety features of future oil facilities such as the Hibernia platform, and led to much tougher regulations regarding safety equipment and training.
(Photo is the Ocean Ranger memorial, located in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.)
