On the 6th of July 1988, 165 offshore oil and gas workers and two seafarers lost their lives when the Piper Alpha oil platform exploded and sank.

 A Piper Alpha Memorial Service, organised by the Piper Memorial Trust, was held at the Piper Alpha Memorial Gardens at Hazlehead Park, Aberdeen today Wednesday 6th July 2022.

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said:

“Piper Alpha remains a symbol of the threat poorly regulated, profit hungry operators can pose to the lives of offshore workers and their families. The loss of those 167 souls resulted in much needed improvements to the laws governing health and safety offshore. One change was the legal requirement to establish safety representatives and safety committees elected by offshore workers.

“Today as we mark the anniversary of the Piper Alpha tragedy, RMT call for a review of the effectiveness of the safety regime across the entire offshore and maritime sector. Booming oil and gas prices, the climate and cost of living crises, energy security, growing demands on a finite workforce and the failure to deliver Just Transition policies all demand a robust and active safety representative structure to drive continuous improvement.

“Workers’ voices must be heard and the legacy of the 167 Piper Alpha victims must be the safety of all those working across the North Sea today.

“We ask that offshore employers allow all workers to take a moment today to remember the 167 offshore workers and the devastating effect that this disaster had on their families and communities, especially in north east Scotland.

“The men of Piper are gone but will never be forgotten.”