Righting the rig

After an extraordinary meeting on Friday, November 28th ,1980, the Minister of Fisheries, Eivind Bolle ordered that the righting operation was to cease immediately. The reason was fears that the rig would sink.[REMOVE]Fotnote: Dan Tagesen, «Kielland»: fra havari til snuing (Stavanger : Oslo: Dreyer bok ; Cappelen, 1983), 40. The decision caused confusion and uncertainty around what was going to happen next. For some, the decision came as a total surprise, such as the Project Lead, Scot Kobus. He was furious at Bolle’s order. The next business day, Monday, December 1st the government had changed its mind, and allowed the operation to continue. The owners of the rig, The Norwegian Oil Insurance Pool, had however decided to end the righting attempt despite this.

In the late winter of 1981, rumours of the rig’s fate started circulating. Some wondered if the rig was to be turned at all. October in the same year, the Kielland Fund was established. It consisted of survivors and bereaved, with the goal of representing them as well as bettering the safety within the petroleum industry. The fund, led by Odd Kristian “Kian” Reme, quickly became a strong proponent for a new righting operation.

On November 16th, 1981, the fund presented its own rightingh plan for the Norwegian Parliament’s (Storting) Committee on Fishing and Maritime Affairs. At the time it had an assumed cost of 60 million Norwegian Kroner. In the beginning it was rejected by Det Norske Veritas, after some adjustsments it was approved later in April. In May, the Parliament voted to right the rig and provided the necessary funding. The goal was to have the rig righted by the fall of 1982.

Improved Planning

Compared to the previous attempt, the second attempt at righting the rig was better organized, with role assignments and distributions that were clearer. The Department of Trade was responsible for executing the Parliament’s decision of righting the rig. In June 1982 it and the Kielland Fund agreed on a revised plan for the righting. It was based on the fund’s previous proposal of using land winches and buoyancy tanks fixed to the remaining four legs.[REMOVE]Fotnote: Tagesen, 46.

Kværner Engineering were appointed project leads, while Stolt-Nielsen Seaway Contracting was the main contractor. The righting method was developed by Bergen Engineering, with tests performed by Norsk Hydrodynamiske Laboratorier.

Delays and Challenges

As the responsibilities and role of everyone involved became clearer, it soon became apparent that a righting by 1982 was unrealistic. First on April 4th, 1983, the Department of Trade gave Stolt Nielsen the contract – which was described as “best and cheapest”. A mere ten days later, the Parliament allocated 140 million Kroner for the righting operation and 3.2 million to the Kielland Fund to cover costs related to the righting plan [REMOVE]Fotnote: Tagesen, 49.

On June 23rd, the first of four buoyancy tanks was fixed to the leg of the rig. A couple of days later, the rig was towed to the designated righting site in the Gandsfjord. Trials using smaller scale moders at Norges Tekniske Høyskole had shown stability problems using the chosed righting method. This led to further delays while the righting method was refined.

Troubled Waters

The operation turned out to be far more expensive than expected. This led to the Parliament allocating an additional 50 million, in addition to the 190 million that were spent from before. Further uncertainty around the success of the operation. As such, barges were hired to help increase the buoyancy as well as acting as a stabilizing force for the rig in case of unforeseen events. At the same time, Veritas is handing in a risk assessment of the operation, in which it concluded that there was a 50% risk of the living quarters falling of the rig. This could lead to a total loss of the rig. Veritas also calculated that the personell involved in the righting were subjected to a risk level equivalent to that of a helicopter transport – the most dangerous part of offshore work.

The new Minister of Trade, Asbjørn Haugstvedt was clear in that safety had to be prioritized. Even though the operation was deemed justifiable, he hesitated in greenlighting the operation. Further complications arose when  the living quarters turned out to be heavier than expected, which led to an increase in the complexity of the operation.

The Righting Operation

September 1st, the go-ahead for the righting was given. Three days after, the delicate operation began. The last meeting between the parties involved lasted until two in the morning. Finally everything was set, equipment, hoses, and last but not least – the highly advanced computer system that was supposed to monitor the whole operation.

The rig was turned to 46 degrees on September 7th without any major issues. It was done by using ballasting, where air and water were pumped into the buoyancy tanks to rotate the rig. Two barges were on standby to slow the rig down, in case it started moving too fast. Some worried about strong winds complicating the continued operation, but it turned out to be a non-issue.

September 9th, the next phase was started. The goal was to rotate the rig to 95 degrees using chains and ballast. A fault in one of the air hoses connected to the buoyancy tanks led to complications and as a result, the previous optimism started to wane.

After a six-hour-long meeting between the project leads, they decided to pump more water in the leg on the opposite side of the buoyancy tank, in an attempt to compensate for the lack of buoyancy. This also led to a lower reserve buoyancy than originally intended. After that, the righting towards 105 degrees went mostly as planned.

Stolt-Nielsen’s Head of Information, called a press conference as they were preparing to right the rig towards 140 degrees. The press corps was somewhat skeptical in light of his tremendous optimism, as this was the most critical phase of the whole operation.

In order to relieve the living quarters, it was lowered a few meters down in the water. As the operation continued, the living quarters gradually became more visible over waterline.

At 12:00, September 12th, the rig was resting at 141 degrees. The most dangerous part was over and the living quarters were still attached. The Head of Information emphasized that work still remained, and that the goal was acheiving a full 178 degrees.

The remaining 37 degrees turned out to be less challenging, and a mere three days later, the survivors, bereaved and other involved or interested parties could celebrate a finished mission. The deadline for the operation was September 12th, and Stolt-Nielsen had cut it close with six hours remaing.

Epilogue

When the rig was turned, almost three years had passed since the accident had happened at the Ekofisk Field March 27th, 1980. Most were still well aware of the catastrophe that unfolded. The debates and discussions around the righting operation had been rough and prolonged far beyond what anyone had initially thought. Luckily, the feat was finally accomplished. The proof was the rig lying right side up, in the Gandsfjord as new oil platforms were being built just a few hundred meters away.

The righting had been the focus of many interested and invested parties, especially the press. Olav Steimler, the head spokesperson of Stolt-Nielsen, held two press conferences each day. This was in addition to questions asked of the Department of Trade and Det norske Veritas. While the department held overall responsiblity, Veritas functioned as an advisory organ and safety controller.

Internation press also followed the events in the Gandsfjord, among them Swedish, Finnish, British, and German media. The interest so great that there was a shuttle boat to the site of the righting. Some locals even made extra money by renting out apartments and roofs where the righting was visible from. [REMOVE]Fotnote: Tagesen, 77.

Among the first aboard the righted rig, were envoys from Stavanger Police Department. Their mission was to look for the missing 36 persons. Together with cleanup-crews from Stolt-Nielsen, they found only 6 of the 36.

The police officers, Kielland Fund, and least of all, the families of those affected were disappointed that so few were found. Some found solace and comfort in knowing that the sea was where their loved ones were buried.[REMOVE]Fotnote: Porsgrunns Dagblad, «”Finnes Bjørn i Kiellandvraket? Porsgrunnsfamilie venter spent».

After the initial investigations of the rig, the Commission of Inquiry wrote a report where they documented their findings aboard the rig. Later they also prepared an additional statement which can be read here.

The commission concluded that the police’s investigations gave a more nuanced understanding of what had happened on the platform, without revealing any new information. Thus, the commission stood by their previous conclusions.[REMOVE]Fotnote: Moan, «’Alexander L. Kielland’ ulykken. Tilleggsuttalelse fra den oppnente undersøkelseskommisjon», 3. november 1983.

References

Moan, Torgeir. «‘Alexander L. Kielland’ ulykken. Tilleggsuttalelse fra den oppnente undersøkelseskommisjon», 3. november 1983. AV/RA-S-1407/D/Ds/Dsb/L0635. National Archives of Norway.

Porsgrunns Dagblad. «”Finnes Bjørn i Kiellandvraket? Porsgrunnsfamilie venter spent». Porsgrunns Dagblad, 29. september 1983. https://www.nb.no/items/9644ae31dd1e6d8c5acc1856d1c78c46?page=0&searchText=stopp%20%22kielland%22.

Tagesen, Dan. «Kielland»: fra havari til snuing. Stavanger : Oslo: Dreyer bok ; Cappelen, 1983.