Piper Alpha I am one of the 61 survivors- presented by Joe Meanen

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Join us on 27th November for a thought-provoking presentation by Joe Meanen, one of the 61 survivors of the Piper Alpha disaster. 

Joe's presentation will be followed by Q&A and a networking dinner. 

Piper Alpha 6th July 1988

Piper Alpha the morning of 7th July 1988

From Joe:

My presentation today will be about myself and some of my fellow survivors, not only surviving the disaster but also living in the aftermath of being involved in such a major event.

I first went offshore in 1982 and over the next six years I worked on a number of different platforms for a number of different oil companies, just the nature of the job I did. ( Scaffolder )

The first platform I worked on was the Dunlin Alpha then on to the Brent Delta, both Shell platforms.

After a year, I moved to the Ninian Field which had three platforms, the Northern the Central and the Southern all managed by Chevron Oil Company.

Followed by work on the Forties Field, I only worked on the Forties Charlie.

Then on to the Brae Alpha, Marathon.

I first went onto Piper Alpha on March of 1988, so by the time July came round that was my 5th trip on the platform.

Even though I had only worked offshore for six years I had a reasonable amount of experience of how all these Oil Companies worked and how safety conscious they were or not.

I then share some facts history about Piper Alpha platform that the audience may not be aware of.

I continue on to the day of the disaster, explaining what myself and my work colleagues were doing on the day, where we were when the first explosion happened, and how we made our escape, going against advice from senior management.

I share more information about how I was rescued from the sea and taken to safety, and my time spent in hospital and recovery.

I go on to speak about post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and how it can affect different people in different ways, and the terrible impact it can have.