ABSTRACT
Given the inherent risks of carrying out work in the hostile environment of the North Sea the conventional view is that the UK offshore oil industry has a safety record broadly consistent with the operating conditions. This has, nevertheless, been overshadowed by accidents which have cost many lives. Between 1965 and 2000, 380 men perished in accidents offshore. A further 1,172 individuals sustained serious injuries. 1 Major accidents have prompted greater official attention to offshore safety. Two incidents, the capsize of the drilling rig Sea Gem on the Dogger Bank on 27 December 1965, and the series of explosions that destroyed the Piper Alpha platform on 6 July 1988, stand out as especially significant. They are the baleful staging posts in the route to the more comprehensive safety régime that currently applies in the North Sea oil industry.
