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February 15
NO FURTHER RADIO COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE OCEAN RANGER
On this day on February 15, 1982 at 0052 hours local time, a MAYDAY call was sent out from the Ocean Ranger, noting a severe list to the port side of the rig and requesting immediate assistance. This was the first communication from the Ocean Ranger identifying a major problem.
At 0130 hours local time, the Ocean Ranger transmitted its last message: 'There will be no further radio communications from the Ocean Ranger. We are going to lifeboat stations'. Shortly thereafter, in the middle of the night and in the midst of atrocious winter weather, the crew abandoned the rig.
All 84 crewmembers died. 56 were Newfoundlanders. Over the next 4 days search teams were only able to recover 22 bodies, 2 lifeboats, and 6 life rafts.
Four days after the Ocean Ranger slipped beneath the waves, families across Newfoundland struggled to cope with the loss. In every community in the province in every church, in every school and at a crowded ecumenical service at the Basilica of St. John the Baptist in St. John's, friends and relatives attended memorial services to pay tribute and search for answers.
The Basilica of St. John the Baptist in St. John's became the focal point for grieving families. The historic church hosted an all-denominational service to commemorate the victims of the disaster. Archbishop Alphonsus L. Penney, Archbishop of St. John’s used the occasion to call on both the federal and provincial governments to establish “a joint enquiry into the terrible accident”.
Archival Resource: The CBC Digital Archives. Exceptional film footage of these very painful and emotional days. http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-70-349-1875/disasters_tragedies/ocean_ranger/clip4
For more information on this and other related subjects contact the Archives of the R.C. Archdiocese. www.stjohnsarchdiocese.nf.ca
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Larry Dohey
Archives of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s
P.O. Box 1363
St. John’s, NL
A1C 5M3
709-726-3660
E-mail: archives@nf.aibn.com
We hope that you have enjoyed this archival moment.
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