What was Byford Dolphin?
Byford Dolphin was a semi-submersible, column-stabilised drilling rig operated by Dolphin Drilling, a subsidiary of Fred Olsen Energy, that worked the British, Danish, and Norwegian sectors of the North Sea.
Questions about Byford Dolphin
Short answers, pulled from the story.
When did the Byford Dolphin diving accident happen?
The accident happened on Saturday, the 5th of November 1983, in the Frigg gas field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The diving chamber system rapidly depressurized from nine atmospheres to one atmosphere during a routine step in the decompression procedure.
How many people died in the Byford Dolphin accident?
Four divers, Edwin Arthur Coward, Roy P. Lucas, Bjørn Giæver Bergersen, and Truls Hellevik, were killed, along with dive tender William Crammond. A second tender, Martin Saunders, was severely injured but survived.
What caused the Byford Dolphin decompression accident?
Investigators concluded that human error was the immediate cause, after a dive tender opened the clamp sealing the trunk before diver Truls Hellevik had closed the chamber door. They also cited engineering failure, since the diving system dated to 1975 and lacked fail-safe hatches, outboard pressure gauges, and an interlocking mechanism.
Did the families of the Byford Dolphin divers receive compensation?
Yes, the divers' families eventually received compensation from the Norwegian government, 26 years after the accident. The North Sea Divers Alliance had pressed for further investigation and, in February 2008, obtained a report indicating faulty equipment, not human error, was the real cause.
What happened to the Byford Dolphin rig after the 1983 accident?
Byford Dolphin continued working in the North Sea for years after the accident. On the 17th of April 2002, a 2-year-old Norwegian child on the rig was killed in an industrial accident, costing the rig its exploration contract with Statoil; Dolphin Drilling scrapped Byford Dolphin in 2019.