Piper Alpha disaster marked 30 years on

● Tonight’s memorial service to be livestreamed on Facebook worldwide

The names of the 167 men who lost their lives in the Piper Alpha disaster will be read outataspecialserviceinaberdeen this evening to mark the 30th anniversary.

The event at the Piper Alpha Memorial Garden in Hazlehead Park in the city will be live streamed to the UK Oil and Gas Chaplaincy Facebook Page for those who cannot attend the service and to the Petroleum Club in Houston, Texas.

The Oil Chapel at the Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting in the city will open today between noon and 4pm to let people see the original Book of Remembrance or light a candle.

Friends, relatives and representatives of the oil and gas industry worldwide.

The fire, following a devastating explosion caused by a gas leak, on the rig owned by the Houston-based US Occidental Petroleum Corporation on 6 July 1988, 120 miles off Scotland’s north-east coast, was the worst in the history of the offshore sector.

The Reverend Gordon Craig, Church of Scotland chaplain to the UK offshore oil and gas industry, said those who had lost their lives would never be forgotten.

“We may be three decades on from the world’s worst offshore disaster but for families, friends, colleagues and survivors the memories and feelings of loss are no less,” he said.

“Our service will enable those to come together with representatives from the city and industry and remember the loved ones who tragically never made it home.”

Paying his respects, Mike Cash, general secretary of the RMT union, also issued a warning over the current North Sea industry business model.

“In remembering the lives of the 167 workers who died in the Piper Alpha disaster, the union offers condolences and support to the families, loved ones and work mates affected by this deeply traumatic incident.

“Respecting the memory of the Piper Alpha victims should mean adopting the highest possible standards that put safety before profit. This would be consistent with the Cullen Report’s objective of continuous improvement of the offshore safety culture.

“Regrettably, however, the business model that has developed in the North Sea especially since the 2014 downturn is putting unwelcome pressure on our members.

“The three weeks on and three and weeks off shift pattern, a crisis of confidence in the safety of helicopter trans- port, ineffective regulations and the prospect of North Sea assets repeatedly changing hands before decommissioning by low-paid foreign staff is the industrial reality for today’s offshore workers.

“Employers, government, regulators must do more for the safety of offshore workers. The consequences of complacency are unthinkable.”