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Pioneer Divers in the Norwegian Sector of the North Sea


MESSAGE FROM GARY CRONIN

May 24, 2006

TO THE MEN WHO EARNED THE TITLE “PIONEER DEEP SEA DIVER”

You know who you are and some of you probably know me, Gary J Cronin. I may have worked with you on one of the many jobs I did for the Oil & Gas Industry in the North Sea as well as other places around the world that diving took me. The North Sea Divers Alliance was created by 2 pioneer divers who got together and felt they had a few complaints to air. Tom Engh and Rolf Engebrethsen (often called “Brig”) pushed hard for compensation for dead diver’s families and damaged divers. We could all probably admit that it was a hard way to make a living and in the end after many years of effort they managed to get compensation paid out to some of the men who have the right to receive some compensation. They created the NSDA (North Sea Divers Alliance) and lobbied hard in Norway’s parliament to get some attention.

Some of the things you probably didn’t know that were taking place in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s even into the 90’s would bring out the worst in you… if you felt that you were used by big oil without even the basic information that you were going to be putting your life and health through. The following is a sample of some of the documents uncovered and in the possession of the NSDA and a few others. Should you need a copy of any of these documents ask me and I probably have it in English. If you have any doubts about a document existing just ask and I’ll look in the files. There are several hundred pages, most asking to break or extend an existing law or regulation….which was granted 99.9 % of the time

1) In 1977 Brown & Root wrote to the NPD (Norwegian Petroleum Directorate) and requested they hold off on publicizing their new diving safety rules and guidelines as well as laws. They argued that such safety measures would slow down bringing online the gas and oil in the Ekofisk field by several years and in short they did not want any impediments to the way they saw diving should be run even if these safety recommendations would have meant less grief for the active diver. Why have a 14 day sat when real men could do a month or two or three doing 12,14 and 18 hour bell runs… no matter the long term health effects this type of exposure would have on the diver. They also duly pointed out that Norway stood to gain considerable by holding off on publication of the proposed diving safety laws, rules and regulations. The NPD duly agreed and it would be over 7 years later before any safety rules, laws and guidelines would be issued. Diving contractor companies and diving companies alike stood to gain from the free flow of ideas and safety considerations that would be circulated when these documents were finally released.

2) Even after these NPD publications were put into effect in 1985 they were routinely bypassed by a letter of authorization (from NPD) to extend dive times or bell umbilical lengths or both or to change the fact that no 02 monitor was available for divers gas supply for a few weeks as the one onboard had been sent to the shop for repair…no problem as long as the oil licensee took full responsibility while the 02 analyzer was unavailable. Or the thru water comm’s etc.
3) In the 80’s the NPD put out a letter of concern that “some” diving companies were using decompression tales that were one week faster than other companies in completing decompression from 1000 fsw and were in fact faster than the US Navy approved Duke University “abort” decompression tables which were specifically meant to be used to abort from saturation in an emergency.

4) Taylor (Brown & Root” asked for (and received) dispensation to use 250 foot long diver bell tethers. The NPD recommended 100 foot tethers (29 meters).This became a common practice into the 90’s.

5) It was common practice to extend saturation from 14 days seal to seal to 26, 28, 32 days plus decompression. Deep dives deeper than 200 msw were recommended to be of 7 days plus decompression. What was the most common reason for extended saturation stays? Lack of qualified divers.

6) Insofar as medical documents they were often in favor of the oil & gas companies to insinuate that there was no known bodily damage to the diver no matter what the exposure he underwent. However not all were so blatant in their one sided findings and some state that working under pressure was indeed harmful. Particularly in bone necrosis and loss of memory. One document list 41% of the men who worked under pressure suffered bone necrosis and this was a long term study done in the 1950’s. Another states that a human was good for only one dive to 1000 fsw. Many state that shallow diving was as harmful as deep diving. Most are glossed over fabrications to suit the requirements of the diving business but some going back to the 50’s say it was harmful to a human to work under pressure.

7) In short we all know it was the day of the “cowboy” diver and he rode alone and often without adequate supervision or safety backup. He in fact went years trusting the supervisor to get his gas mix correct as well as his decompression schedule. The fact that many divers are today very sick men with no access to medical treatment. The whole story is nothing short of a war story and it will be debated until we are all dead and after.

8) In Norway suicides among divers are twice that of civilian population statistics…I know. .. wimps. Well I don’t know about you tough guys. I was a tough guy once too and tougher than a lot of you. Yet I find it difficult to walk to the store now.

So if any of you are like minded let me know or Tom Wingen…were are the English speaking contacts for you men who deserve something in return for what I know many of you found an easy job and a great way to forget the war. So get in touch and do it soon. Once you’ve applied for compensation we can take it further and it may take a year or two but we should be able to get you something. You earned it. Don’t forget the way they treated you on some barges when some of you were crammed together into very tight quarters.

I have many documents that describe the haste and greed to produce the oil and gas of the North Sea and damn the cost in damage to the diver’s health We even have a letter from the President of the United States encouraging the haste for reasons that were in interest of national security and secret and while I can understand that letter and all the motives of big business like big oil, I do not like being used as a lab rat unless they have my consent and provide me with some pertinent facts. Like the letter from Brown & Root suggests they were not interested in the divers or their health and families. They just wanted results and sooner rather than later. They knowingly withheld important information and allowed criminal activities to further their interests. Since there were so few real pioneer divers I as well as many other people feel that they (the divers or widows) are due some compensation and some medical support. No different than a war veteran can expect.

So for all of you who are new to this or waving the flag like it was our duty to perform this task uninformed try and think again…not as a combat solider or a willing lab rat but a human being who had some rights and still do. But I do want to get some pay back. I’d like 10 acres of land; preferably with a decent home on it I would like medical treatment for my medical problems. It would be nice to have some economic security for myself and family too.

By the way did you know that most of you have are near sterile and suffer from long and short memory loss and possibly bone necrosis. ...finding it hard to walk more than a few hundred meters in your 50’s? Sure life is hard and it’s full of people who do not care much about your well being but don’t forget we were to a large degree responsible for ending the cold war and we kept gas under 2 dollars a gallon at the same time and made poor countries like Norway very rich.

It seems many of the big oil men figured out they were going to have to come clean and admit that they could produce alternative fuel products so they better squeeze a heavy price for the dying ten years of oil dependent gasoline (as you’ve seen in the last few months)...before the changing weather conditions give the environmentalist too much leverage to make oil and gas look like tobacco and booze companies which is what they really are.

Respectfully, Gary Cronin

P.S.: Kindly get back to me with questions or queries at:
Tel: (+47) 22 02 09 15
e-mail: cronin04@hotmail.com

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