- FRONTPAGE
- LETTER TO CARL I. HAGEN FROM MARIUS REIKERÅS, NSDA LAWYER
- OPEN LETTER TO ELECTED POLITICIANS AND OTHERS IT MIGHT CONCERN FROM MARIUS REIKERÅS, NSDA LAWYER
- REQUEST FOR HELP IN FINDING THE NEXT OF KIN OF DECEASED DIVERS
- OPEN LETTER FROM A PIONEER DIVERS WIDOW, JOYCE BRUSHNEEN, TO THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE
- BYFORD DOLPHIN VIDEO FROM LINDA CRAMMOND
- PETITION TO THE GOVERNMENT OF NORWAY
- LABOUR AND SOCIAL INCLUSION DEPARTMENT RESPONSE TO THE CIVIL OMBUDSMAN
- COMPENSATION HOPES FOR FAMILIES OF DEAD DIVERS - The Sunday Post - March 22 2009
- LABOUR AND INCLUSION MINISTRY REJECTS REQUEST FOR A NEW SEARCH FOR FOREIGN PIONEER DIVERS 21-03-09
- RESPONSE FROM THE LABOUR AND INCLUSION DEPARTMENT 16-03-09
- EQUAL CASES MUST BE TREATED EQUALLY 13-03-09
- LETTER FROM THE CONTROL AND CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE TO MINISTER DAG TERJE ANDERSEN 12-03-09
- I AM ASHAMED - KARI TODNEM - ABCNYHETER - 09.03.09
- IT IS A QUESTION OF JUSTICE - CARL I. HAGEN
- A WEAK CABINET MINISTER - ABCNYHETTER 11-12-09
- A NEW CLAIM FOR BILLIONS APPEARS
- THE NORWEGIAN SHAME
- CARL I. HAGEN - TAKING ACTION
- LETTER FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSIONER, ARNE FLIFLET
- OSLO COURT RULING
- RUTH CRAMMOND - WEST FIFE WIDOW TO FIGHT ON AFTER LOSING DAMAGES BATTLE
- NORTH SEA DIVERS DEMAND COMPENSATION AFTER MAKING NORWAY RICH
- FAMILIES OF BRITISH DIVERS KILLED IN NORTH SEA OIL BOOM SUE NORWAY
- The Official Response from the NORWEGIAN MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND INCLUSION – Plus My Commentary
- The Norwegian Authorities Turn Even More Pathetic - The NSDA Response
- “The State Held Back Documents” Aftenbladet.no - 29.01.2008
- 24 Disabled North Sea Oil Divers Sue Norwegian Government, Claiming Human Rights Violations - AP
- Case updates from Upstream
- 2007.02.26 - Associated Press EX-OFFSHORE OIL DIVERS SUE OVER HEALTH
- MESSAGE FROM GARY CRONIN
- LAST ADVICE FROM TOM KIRKHAM
- BYFORD DOLPHIN DISASTER 05.11.1983
- Royal Commission of Enquiry headed by Petter A. Lossius, Judge, Borgarting Court of Appeals
- Dermott O’Sullivan - One sad example
- Dermott O’Sullivan’s US Court Case
- Aage Alvestad - US Court Case
- A brief insight into saturation diving.
- Reference Documentation
Pioneer Divers in the Norwegian Sector of the North Sea
24 Disabled North Sea Oil Divers Sue Norwegian Government, Claiming Human Rights Violations - AP
The Associated Press
Published: January 28, 2008
OSLO, Norway: A group of 24 deep sea divers who claim their health was ruined when they worked at extreme depths in the early years of Norway’s offshore oil boom sued the government on Monday for violating their human rights.
The so-called pioneer divers were sent to extreme and sometimes experimental depths while working on offshore oil installations in the 1970s and 1980s, according to a government commission that studied the case.
The case brought before the Oslo city court was the second legal test of the government’s legal responsibility to the divers. In August, the same court ordered the government to pay a total of nearly 30 million kroner (US$5.4 million; €3.75 million) to three divers with similar claims.
An appeal by the government in that case remains to be heard and the outcome of the two challenges could bring a rash of other suits by injured divers, some of whom complain of lung and brain damage. The current case is scheduled to last until May 15.
The divers have often been called the forgotten victims of an industry that has made Norway a major oil exporter and one of the world’s richest countries.
In his opening remarks, Marius Reikeraas, an attorney for the divers, said some of his clients were sent to depths of 400 meters (1,300 feet) until 2002. The safe limit is now set at 180 meters (590 feet).
“This is a test case for the Norwegian government when it comes to respecting human rights. The central question is whether the government was aware of the risk of injuries the divers faced,” he said.
The lawsuit, formally brought against the Ministry of Labor and Social Inclusion, alleges that the government violated the European Convention on Human Rights by sending them to dangerous depths when it knew or should have known the risks. If the divers win, the government could be obliged to pay them compensation.
The government has accepted moral and political responsibility for the divers, but rejects any legal obligation. However, in 2004, Parliament authorized compensation of up to 2.7 million kroner (US$491,000; €337,000) for each of about 200 divers, in addition to previous payments of up to 500,000 kroner (US$90,100; €62,500).
A government survey released in December 2007 said 20 percent of 139 divers active between 1965 and 1990 were on medical disability pensions. Reikeraas said the number of divers injured was probably closer to 200.
If any one out there is serious and can help to find the families, or who just wants more information please contact me directly:
Tom Wingen
Brunla Gård. N-3294 Stavern, Norway
Tel: (+47) 959 444 85 | E-mail: mail@pioneerdivers.org