Piper Alpha Disaster.

[j.sabourn]

Didn’t know Ian had died Fouro thanks for letting me know. He went to work for the company who took over instructing FRC coxs. I was at the Palace with him and the others when awards were being handed out. The GM in the Aberdeen Maritime Museum belonged I believe to James Clark and I had hoped to trace his wherabouts via the museum. However they believed him to be dead. However I know a different version of how the Medal finished up where it did, as Dundee Jim as I knew him kept in touch with me for a number of years as sailed with me on the same Sandhaven and Johnshaven and Burnhaven after leaving the Silver Pit, the same as others did. He kept in contact with me by phone in Australia at various times, and the last time was a lot of years ago , I think he was in his cups at the time and was crying that he had lost his medal.I made enquiries through another crew member who told me a different story, so what the museum told me may be in error. I still maintain the Sandhavens FRC received the fireball which I reckoned at the time was directed at the centre of the wheelhouse and thought at the time was the end. However it missed us by feet and plied into the FRC instead. In my own mind looking for a reason I have always told myself it was because the FRC was a petrol driven boat and the numerous fireballs zooming around seemed to make for a combustible source. My FRC was a diesel driven boat which I think all FRCs should be also my boat was a jet boat and had no protruding propellers to get entangled. I was told at the ceremony by someone I asked if any of the people I knew were there, the only name to me was Mrs Storey whose husband was one of those killed, however I didn’t know her and rather than reopen old wounds made no attempt to impeach on her still obvious grief. I have since getting home written to the curator of the Aberdeen museum and in it mention that the Piper Alpha took more than the 167 deaths that it physically imparted. The 14 men who came out of the inferno that went into it would have come out different men mentally and can only hope they had the strength of will to overcome some of the sights they may have witnessed. I know many people would not have. Cheers JWS.

[Fouro]

How those awarded the George Medal are listed in the London Gazette.

Brian Phillip Batchelor (deceased) lately Boatman, Haven Shipping Company Ltd.

James Herbert Clark, Deckhand, Nomis Ltd.

Charles Alexander Haffey, Deckhand, Nomis Ltd.

Andrew James Kiloh, Deckhand, Nomis Ltd.

Iain Letham, Deckhand, Haven Shipping Company Ltd.

James Paul McNeill, Deckhand, Nomis Ltd.

Malcolm John Storey, (deceased) lately Deckhand, Haven Shipping Company Ltd.

Regards from,
Fouro.

[j.sabourn]

James Herbert Clark
James Paul McNeil... both came with me on the Haven ships which was Harrison’s of Clyde.
Charles Alexander Haffey
Andrew James Kiloh .. both went ashore Charlie Haffey went into local politics in Scotland, he was a veteran of the Falklands war and had been on one of the ships either damaged or sunk by an Exocet. Andy Kiloh was an ex fisherman and was his first offshore trip in the oil industry, believe his wife would not let him back to sea. I still have hopes that James Clark is still alive. To the best of my knowledge the others are apart from Ian Letham as you say. The coxn. Told me later that Andy Kiloh had said to him in the boat, God is it like this every night ? To which the reply was No only every second night. Which I thought quiet funny at the time. Must have a warped sense of humour. Cheers JWS.

[j.sabourn]

Don’t worry too much about it Fouro. At least if Ian Latham and Dundee Jim are now deceased. Then out of the original 14 that came out alive, the rest can now consider themselves part of the Dirty Dozen. There may be a squabble on who’s going to be Lee Marvin though. Cheers JS

[j.sabourn]

Sent on the 23 July 2018.
Oilmemories@aagm

I recently tried to contact you via snail mail from Aberdeen and when got home to WA From recent visit to Aberdeen. My computer is now back on line and have no communication problems which tried to explain in recent letter to your museum. I visited the museum on the 5 July the day prior to the ceremony at the park for those
lost at the disaster. I found it very moving and brought back into focus many memories which have always been there, but in a far more sharp focus. One of my reasons for my visit to the museum was to try and trace the previous owner of the George Medal on show which belonged to a member of the FRC off the Silver Pit. I was later informed that you believed he was dead. As I was master of the Silver Pit during the dreadful time of the disaster, the full horrors and occurrences are etched into my mind for ever. As your display of the Piper Alpha seems to be lacking the aspect as seen from the few men who had the unfortunate task of the hands on task of saving what was possible to save, I thought documentary from that source would be deserving for the general public to know, rather than from press releases which in many cases does not show a true account as seen through the eyes of those14 remaining rescuers who had this unfortunate task. For 10 years after the disaster I would not even talk about it, but after a time started putting it down on paper, these thoughts I gave to a site for merchant navy personnel as believe they should be aware of the true facts. This also released some pressure on myself. Most of my thoughts on the subject can be found on the site merchant-navy old friends plus , and mainly under the heading of forgotten disasters and under the sub heading of Aftermath and more under Piper Alpha. This was put there for the benefit of MN personel receiving a true account and not for any personal gain and self gratification.
If you would like copies of anything from these accounts which are taken from official statements and the holes filled in which officials are not really worried about, please feel free to do so. The correspondences I received from officialdom and elsewhere I can also supply copies. If you desire to show a proper history and factual occurrences that happened. As said I sent a couple of days ago a similar letter as this email, but if this goes will at least know you have received. Regards John William Sabourn M.B.E.


That’s it Fouro all I can do to keep the records straight. Don’t worry the truth always comes out. Fingers now getting sore as have printed out twice now. Have to do everything the hard way. So EOE. Cheers JWS.

[happy daze john in oz]

There are still many such oil rigs around the world.
How have the various owners and companies made sure such an horrific disaster such as this will not happen again?

[j.sabourn]

You can’t. There will always be disasters of one type or another. All that can be done to lessen the probability is to be stringent on self preservation rules and regulations. Sometimes the rules do not match the occurrence. People are always wise after the event. Then nonchalance sets in after a whle Risks are taken in lots of professions especially the likes of going to sea, most are calculated risks that go wrong. If risks were not taken most ships would never go to sea. It’s when blatant cost cutting and cutting sharp corners causes such that the manure really hits the fan. The Piper Alpha already had a reputation before the disaster. Cheers JWS

[Fouro]

Thankyou John for entering such well written and interesting articles to this topic. The curator of that museum in Aberdeen must be over the moon at hearing from an alive and kicking ex Master of the "Silver Pit" the standby vessel whos crew managed to save more than half of the survivors of the Piper Alpha tragedy.
Looking back to the night of 6th July, 1988, weather conditions were perfect, the sea was calm around the steel legs of Piper Alpha, and most of the 226 oil rig workers had retired to their own quarters for the evening.
But alas, 167 of these poor souls such as fathers, brothers and sons were unknowingly in their last moments of life, as the world's worst unforeseen offshore disaster, unfortunately for them, was already happening.

May they all R.I.P.

Regards from,
Fouro.

[Fouro]

Two of the 167 fatalities were merchant seamen Brian Phillip Batchelor and Malcolm John Storey, who lost their lives along with six survivors they had picked up, when their fast rescue craft was engulfed in flames after an explosion..
Brian and Malcolm were awarded the George Medal posthumously.

Regards from,
Fouro.

[j.sabourn]

#32...I often wonder about the figure of 226. As I had 227 in the logbook. A stand by boat always queried the control room after the last helicopters for the day on how many souls on board, and I am sure I had 227 in the log book. Depending on the number of survivors and how they were counted I suppose if 226 and 165 lost then 61 survivors. If 227 and 165 lost then 62 survivors. The Frenchman who died on arrival Hospital was he classed as. A survivor ? Anyhow is a moot point now. Those who did survive would have had various nightmares from that day on. Cheers JWS.