Home · Environment · Extreme Weather · The Ocean Ranger Disaster
Topic spans: 1982 - 1984
The Ocean Ranger Disaster
Valentine's Day, 1982: a terrible storm rages off the coast of Newfoundland. On the Grand Banks, the Ocean Ranger, the world's mightiest drilling rig, is pounded by waves more than 20 metres high. At the height of the storm, the "indestructible" rig begins to tip over, then capsizes. All 84 men on board — 56 of them from Newfoundland — perish. It is Canada's worst tragedy at sea since the Second World War.
Topic image of the Ocean Ranger courtesy of Canadian Heritage
11 television clips
5 radio clips
Newfoundland- the Ocean Ranger disaster
Broadcast Date: Feb. 19, 1982
Four days after the Ocean Ranger slips beneath the waves, families across Newfoundland struggle to cope with the loss of the 56 islanders who perished in the disaster. In coastal village churches, in schools and at a crowded service at the Basilica of St. John the Baptist in St. John's, friends and relatives attend memorial services to pay tribute and search for answers. It is a province all too familiar with maritime disaster.Newfoundland- the Ocean Ranger disaster
• The Basilica of St. John the Baptist in St. John's became the focal point for grieving families and held many all-denominations services to commemorate the victims of the disaster.• On July 10, 1985, a plaque was dedicated to the victims of the Ocean Ranger disaster. It's part of a statue that represents both comfort and exposure to the elements.
• Memorials are still held in Newfoundland every year on Feb. 15, the anniversary of the disaster.
• In an effort to boost local employment the government of Newfoundland insisted that local men be hired to work aboard the Ocean Ranger, over Mobil's objections.
• Newfoundland's Memorial University created the "Ocean Ranger Scholarships" to commemorate the loss of the oil rig's crew members. Preference is given "to the daughters, sons and/or widows of those who were lost."
• Newfoundland's Grand Banks are the resting place of another "unsinkable" vessel. Almost 70 years earlier, on April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg and sank about 600 kilometres southeast of Newfoundland. The Titanic was twice the size of the Ocean Ranger. It too did not have enough lifeboats, and 1,360 people died in the icy waters of the North Atlantic.
Newfoundland- the Ocean Ranger disaster
Medium: Television
Program: The National
Broadcast Date: Feb. 19, 1982
Guest(s): Alphonsus Penney
Reporter: Whit Fraser, Barbara Yaffe
Duration: 4:04
Last updated:
April 11, 2008
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16 clips in this topic . page
Radio
3:59
Feb. 14, 1982
As the storm rages, something goes terribly wrong aboard the Ocean Ranger.
Television
6:10
May 29, 1914
Heavy fog leads to a deadly collision that kills 1,012 people in Canada's worst maritime disaster.
Newfoundland- the Ocean Ranger disaster.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: April 11, 2008.
[Page consulted on Feb. 12, 2012.]