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Pioneer Divers in the Norwegian Sector of the North Sea


COMPENSATION HOPES FOR FAMILIES OF DEAD DIVERS - The Sunday Post -  March 22 2009

THE SUNDAY POST

By Iain Harrison March 22, 2009

 

COMPENSATION HOPES FOR FAMILIES OF DEAD DIVERS

 

RELATIVES of deep-sea divers killed during the early years of North Sea oil exploration have been given fresh hope in their battle for compensation.

 

The families of four British men have always claimed their loved ones died after being sent on dangerous missions without proper equipment.

 

They hold the Norwegian government responsible as they were owners of the oilfields where the men worked.

 

A year ago the families submitted formal applications for damages to the district court in Oslo. But in September their hopes were dashed when a judge ruled that ministers couldn’t be held legally responsible for the men’s deaths.

 

Heartache

It meant more heartache for mother-of-two Ruth Crammond, from Dalgety Bay, whose husband, Bill, died in 1983 following a deep-sea explosion.

 

He was one of 17 divers who lost their lives in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea in the first 25 years of commercial exploration.

 

Many others claim they were treated as “human guinea pigs”, being sent to extreme and experimental depths.

 

Others denied reparation were Joyce Brushneen whose husband, Mike, was killed in 1971, Clare Lucas, who lost her father, Roy, in 1983, and Geraldine Martin, whose husband, John, died on his first dive in 1975.

 

Now, however, the relatives have been told by campaign group, the North Sea Divers’ Alliance, that their applications could be resurrected following an admission by a senior government adviser that ministers should abandon their hard-line stance.

 

Kari Todnem is medical director at Trondheim’s St Olav’s Hospital and a member of a committee set up to consider the so-called pioneer divers’ claims.

 

She believes the Norwegian government is legally responsible for their deaths and has demanded that compensation claims by their relatives should be re-assessed.

 

“These were young men who made a commitment for Norway in the North Sea and were killed."

 

“Several years later we say they do not have the right to compensation. It’s really quite terrible and I feel ashamed. Counsel can revisit this if it wants.”

 

The astonishing admission has stunned Tom Wingen, a former diver who helped set up NSDA in the early 1990s to fight for those killed or seriously injured while working in the North Sea.

 

He said, “Kari Todnem is one of the world’s leading medical experts on diving-related conditions so to say I was gob smacked by her statement would be an understatement.

 

“It has caused quite a kerfuffle in the Norwegian media and the issue has been taken up by the main opposition party. The government there finally appears to be taking notice.

 

“While I believe they now have no option but to award compensation they’ll no doubt try to find a way to make out they are the heroes before they make an announcement.”

 

It’s claimed that 40 per cent of all divers involved in the first wave of oil exploration died, and that almost all of those who survived have since suffered poor health. The Norwegian and UK authorities dispute these figures.

 

The Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Inclusion declined to comment.

 

■ Tom Wingen is trying to locate the families of five other British divers killed in North Sea in the 1960s and 1970s, as they may also be eligible for compensation.

They are RJ Lyons (1967), RJ Smyth (1974), Peter Kelly (1974), Gary Shields (1974) and George Turner (1975). Please email mail@pioneerdivers.org

 

 

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