Piper Alpha Disaster.

[robpage]

I was talking to someone who was involved in a minor incident , in comparison , a housefire with a fatality , they had been diagnosed with PTSD were receiving counselling , support , and some small benefit because the PTSD prevented them from holding down a " normal " job , different World 30 years on

[Keith Tindell]

Apparently counselling is standard after any fatality in the fire service now, i did 30 years in the job, never even heard of a counsellor !!!, at best a cup of tea round the newsroom table, and a chat with the crew, kt

[robpage]

I have a naturally suspicious mind and I don't know how you prove PTSD , but I suspect that there is more of it in the world today than there ever was I know in the village that I lived in as a child there was one man used to wander the streets talking to himself then had shellshock something had affected him for the rest of his life but I think that we have a media and the legal Eagles who are very happy to slap labels on things you find that a naughty child seems to now have ADHD and that anybody has been through something stressful has PTSD . I've only been to a couple of non-fatal very stressful incidents and I found a dozen cans of beer and half a bottle of rum was about all the counselling I ever needed along with a few friends to talk it through with .

[j.sabourn]

#44 and 45.
#44.. Have just got out the picture of the Silver Pit and bears little resemblance to your picture of #43. Fouro. So either there was a lot of constructional steel work done or it is a different Silver Pit.The picture I have is. Taken from the Numast Telegraph of September 1988. Together with another picture of the crew being presented to Prince Charles and Dianna on the quayside. Both pictures were placed there by Numast to accompany an article by yours truly. Can’t see this article elsewhere and I thought had put in with all the bumf on the site Aftermath. So may have been erased with others when the site was attacked some years ago. The article is entitled “Piper Alpha rescue praised “ and reads ... As I was recently involved in the Piper Alpha disaster I would like to say a few words regarding the two merchant seamen who were sadly lost.
As master of the Silver Pit the platforms stand by safety vessel pictured above, I was in close proximity to the platform for the initial three to four hours.
I am therefore fully aware of the horror and. Danger of the situation, which must have been further aggravated by being in a small open craft whose only recourse to safety was its speed.
My own boat crew had their boat severely damaged but fortuanetly were picked up and later returned to my vessel, for which I will always be grateful .
My condolences go to the master and crew of the Sandhaven for the loss of their two brave shipmates, and I would likei it known that these men were not highly paid oil workers, but ordinary merchant seamen working in the lowest paid sector of the oil industry- probably due to circumstances beyond their control—and I for one take my hat off to them.
Capt. JWSabourn. Membership number 150766

Pictures Aberdeen Journals.

#45... Rob, reading through some of these posts is like being Rip Van Winkle and waking up in this case 30 years later.
Tell me out of curiosity, you having studied the whole scenario, was there any ever any mention of the platform having explosives on board. To do this all. The previous manifests wouldof had to be examined. Oil rigs carried explosives and usually went into radio silence when handling I was told. When asked at a private interview by the owners about it being a man made blast,I assumed they were referring to a bomb. And was adamant for some reason it wasn’t. However on the report of the examination of myself no mention was made of the question , so it was off the record and no proof it was asked. As. Said previously I took no interest in the after proceedings apart from my own little bit. CheersJWS.

As regards pts I was speaking to an ex police officer in Aberdeen on the 6th. July who had been stationed at Dyce airport to see the bodies brought in and placed in a temporary morgue there. He said it was a very ungratifying job and the biggest problem was keeping the press out of breaking into the morgue and taking pictures . JWS.

[robpage]

I don't recall any mention of explosives at all , I'm sure I would have remembered

[happy daze john in oz]

Similar in the Police Keith, dealt with more fatalities, babies, children,teens adults and the elderly than I care to remember. Traffic Accidents, fights, suicides, fires, drugs and old age, covered everything. I can only once remember being asked if I was OK, that was after a child died in a traffic accident, when I said yes, I was sent on another job. I never heard of the word counselling. it just did not happen. I am not bragging or anything, just saying how it was. You were seen as weak if you showed any emotion and nobody wanted that.

You should be over here in Oz.
Even small incidents and the councilors are at hand for any one who needs them.

[Fouro]

Getting back to what the Topic's all about.
The Grampian Venture was previously the Sandhaven which took part in the Piper Alpha rescue work.

Grampian Venture - Stand-By & Supply Vessels - Gallery - TrawlerPictures.net

Regards from,
Fouro.

[j.sabourn]

#52 Was also on this ship after the Silver Pit Fouro. Together with her sister ships the Johnshaven and Burnhaven. Was on them until they were sold to North Star offshore. Could. Have stayed on with the new owners but wasn’t too keen on the changed conditions, so went with Seaboard. Offshore, there until their conditions dived and. They wanted me to sail with 1 seaman. Hard to belief I know especially after all the the talk about updating these ships conditions etc. Believe Seaboard is no more and we’re sold I think to an American company, but could be wrong. The sand, burn and Johnshaven were good vessels and I would say ideal for their job, especially the boat launching facilities and in their all round vision from the bridge, manouvering etc. Grampians got a good buy there. I then went with Vector Offshore whoses owner had a more positive look on what was required. I had by that time decided to leave the UK offshore as saw very little future there , and made the right decision for that era. Was like a breath of fresh air arriving in Australia. However talking to people still in the industry! Things as usual are once again on the downward path, just too pleased to be retired. JWS. PS as your info. On the ship. Includes some remarks going back to 2009. The master on the Sandhaven as stated was Sean
Ennis during the Piper Alpha disaster. John Arton was good enough to. Inform the site that Sean had died, believe it was last year. He was a much younger man than myself , so was sad he was taken so early in life. i believe he went ashore not too long after the disaster and had a sports shop in Shields. For anyone on site who knew him and was unaware please be updated. The plaque to the two seamen lost was still in. The wheelhouse when I was on her. What happened to it after she was sold would be anyone’s guess. It’s rightful place would be in the Aberdeen Maritime Museiim though. I never saw it there on my visit. JWS

[John Arton]

https://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/...hter-1-9272217
JWS
This appeared in our local paper
Rgds
J.A.

[j.sabourn]

#54... He was more than likely to have passed through the Silver Pit John. But would not know for sure. My information was gleaned from newspapers as regards the total of the survivors names which I still have a copy of. However it doesn’t say who picked them up. I do believe a couple even managed to swim to the Tharos. My FRC reported that she had taken others to another vessel well clear of the danger area. 37 survivors were reported coming off the Silver Pit. At the time I wasn’t too particular of their names just that they were breathing was good enough. On a rough head count leaving the vessel there seemed to me more than the stated 37 by the media. Maybe this was wishful thinking on my behalf. Who knows. Cheers JWS