Comments on: Remember, Remember the 5th of November http://cephalopodcast.com/blog/2007/11/05/remember-remember-the-5th-of-november/ science edu + ocean info / gelatinous for the masses Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:26:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Jason http://cephalopodcast.com/blog/2007/11/05/remember-remember-the-5th-of-november/#comment-61250 Jason Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:48:51 +0000 http://cephalopodcast.com/blog/2007/11/05/remember-remember-the-5th-of-november/#comment-61250 Interesting, this article just came up in my aggregator today: <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008459062_apeunorwayoildivers.html" rel="nofollow"><b>Norwegian court overturns lawsuit by divers</b></a> <blockquote>When Norway, now one of the world's major oil exporters, was first developing its North Sea fields in the 1970s and 1980s, divers were sent to extreme and sometimes experimental depths to maintain and install equipment...The appeals court acknowledged the "extraordinary risk" of their tasks but said the state was not responsible because none of "the appellants were ever employed by or had assignments for the government"...Some divers complain of severe health consequences, including lung and brain damage.</blockquote> Interesting, this article just came up in my aggregator today:

Norwegian court overturns lawsuit by divers

When Norway, now one of the world’s major oil exporters, was first developing its North Sea fields in the 1970s and 1980s, divers were sent to extreme and sometimes experimental depths to maintain and install equipment…The appeals court acknowledged the “extraordinary risk” of their tasks but said the state was not responsible because none of “the appellants were ever employed by or had assignments for the government”…Some divers complain of severe health consequences, including lung and brain damage.

]]> By: Jason http://cephalopodcast.com/blog/2007/11/05/remember-remember-the-5th-of-november/#comment-61249 Jason Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:33:01 +0000 http://cephalopodcast.com/blog/2007/11/05/remember-remember-the-5th-of-november/#comment-61249 Old Diver - Thanks for stopping by and leaving such a detailed message here. However, I also encourage you to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents" rel="nofollow">join Wikipedia and help</a> with writing the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Byford_Dolphin&action=history" rel="nofollow">Byford entry</a>. Remember, Wikipedia is "the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit." If the information you have can be supported with authenticated sources, then your contribution will go a long way to improving the information there and make it hopefully more accurate. Old Diver - Thanks for stopping by and leaving such a detailed message here. However, I also encourage you to join Wikipedia and help with writing the Byford entry. Remember, Wikipedia is “the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.” If the information you have can be supported with authenticated sources, then your contribution will go a long way to improving the information there and make it hopefully more accurate.

]]> By: An Old Diver http://cephalopodcast.com/blog/2007/11/05/remember-remember-the-5th-of-november/#comment-61248 An Old Diver Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:36:31 +0000 http://cephalopodcast.com/blog/2007/11/05/remember-remember-the-5th-of-november/#comment-61248 The "Wikipedia" entry you have linked to provides a very poor and hopelessly inaccurate version of events. In examining the actual causes of the accident it became extremely convenient to place the blame firmly on the shoulders of one of the men who died and who could not therefore defend himself. The "accident" was put down to "human error", which is correct but the areas in which "human error" played a part were rather wider spread than the "official report" mentions. Incompetence, negligence and human error existed in the following organisations which were actually tasked with safeguarding the diving operations being conducted from the Byford Dolphin: - The Diving Inspectorate of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate; - The "Operating Company" responsible for the North-East Frigg Field Development, ELF AQUITAINE NORGE AS. - Master, Safety Officer and Company Safety Department of Fred Olsen Shipping subsidiary Dolphin Drilling AS. - The Management and Safety Department of COMEX NORGE AS the diving company responsible for diving operations onboard Byford Dolphin. If personnel employed by the above organisations had actually done their jobs the "accident" would never have happened. Other contributary factors: - Fatigue - Missing and broken equipment - Alterations to procedures imposed by broken and missing equipment The "Wikipedia" article also gives passing mention to an engineering failure and to corrective actions introduced after the "accident". This part of the article is complete and utter rubbish. The “Wikipedia” entry you have linked to provides a very poor and hopelessly inaccurate version of events. In examining the actual causes of the accident it became extremely convenient to place the blame firmly on the shoulders of one of the men who died and who could not therefore defend himself.

The “accident” was put down to “human error”, which is correct but the areas in which “human error” played a part were rather wider spread than the “official report” mentions. Incompetence, negligence and human error existed in the following organisations which were actually tasked with safeguarding the diving operations being conducted from the Byford Dolphin:

- The Diving Inspectorate of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate;

- The “Operating Company” responsible for the North-East Frigg Field Development, ELF AQUITAINE NORGE AS.

- Master, Safety Officer and Company Safety Department of Fred Olsen Shipping subsidiary Dolphin Drilling AS.

- The Management and Safety Department of COMEX NORGE AS the diving company responsible for diving operations onboard Byford Dolphin.

If personnel employed by the above organisations had actually done their jobs the “accident” would never have happened.

Other contributary factors:
- Fatigue
- Missing and broken equipment
- Alterations to procedures imposed by broken and missing equipment

The “Wikipedia” article also gives passing mention to an engineering failure and to corrective actions introduced after the “accident”. This part of the article is complete and utter rubbish.

]]> By: Rick MacPherson http://cephalopodcast.com/blog/2007/11/05/remember-remember-the-5th-of-november/#comment-35320 Rick MacPherson Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:26:16 +0000 http://cephalopodcast.com/blog/2007/11/05/remember-remember-the-5th-of-november/#comment-35320 wow... the description on the provided link leaves very little to the imagination... while i've always heard about explosive decompression (mostly from movies) i never really thought about the effect that violently changing pressure would have on a human body... well, now i know... note to self: always securely wrap myself in duct tape before entering norwegian submersibles... wow…
the description on the provided link leaves very little to the imagination… while i’ve always heard about explosive decompression (mostly from movies) i never really thought about the effect that violently changing pressure would have on a human body…

well, now i know…
note to self: always securely wrap myself in duct tape before entering norwegian submersibles…

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