This Week in Maritime History: Explosion on North Sea Oil Rig, Women Inducted into U.S. Naval Academy

Jul 6, 1988: Explosion on North Sea oil rig

On July 6, 1988, an offshore oil rig in the North Sea exploded killing 167 workers. It has come to be known as the worst disaster of its kind to date.

The Piper Alpha rig, the largest in the North Sea at the time, was owned by Occidental Oil and had roughly 225 workers onboard during the explosion. It was located about 120 miles off Scotland’s northeast coast. On the evening of July 6, a gas leak led to a massive explosion and fire on the rig. A fireball 350 feet high erupted from the platform.

Photo: Memorial to the disaster in Hazlehead Park, Aberdeen.

It was actually the toxic fumes that killed many of the workers. Others jumped more than 100 feet to the waters below to escape the flames and fumes, although the fall would most likely be fatal. A couple of crewmen managed to survive the jump; others avoided death by sliding down pipes into the waters, where burning oil was floating on the cold sea. They were eventually rescued by helicopters and nearby boats.

This disaster was the largest single incident; most other deaths on the 120 rigs in the sea have been due to harsh weather. A 1990 inquiry into the tragedy was critical of the safety procedures on the Occidental rig before the disaster, but did not identify the direct cause of the explosion itself. A civil action was resolved in 1997 with a finding that two deceased workers were negligent, but that decision has not been generally accepted.

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Jul 6, 1976: Women inducted into U.S. Naval Academy

In Annapolis, Maryland, the U.S. Naval Academy admitted women for the first time in its history with the induction of 81 female midshipmen. In May 1980, Elizabeth Anne Rowe became the first woman member of the class to graduate. Four years later, Kristine Holderied became the first female midshipman to graduate at the top of her class.

The U.S. Naval Academy opened in Annapolis in October 1845, with 50 midshipmen students and seven professors. Known as the Naval School until 1850, the curriculum included mathematics, navigation, gunnery, steam, chemistry, English, natural philosophy, and French. The Naval School officially became the U.S. Naval Academy in 1850, and a new curriculum went into effect requiring midshipmen to study at the Academy for four years and to train aboard ships each summer - the basic format that remains at the academy to this day.

The graduating class of 1894