Whiddy Disaster: Oil Company Praised Government

A MONTH after the Whiddy Island oil disaster in which 51 people died, the chairman of Gulf Oil (Ireland) wrote to the taoiseach to praise the co-operation they received from government departments to “resolve difficulties”.

However, the subsequent tribunal censured Gulf Oil which ran the terminal for not co-operating by giving inaccurate information to the inquiry.

A French oil tanker, the Betelgeuse, exploded at the offshore jetty at Whiddy Island in Bantry Bay in the early hours of January 8th, 1979.

Forty-two French workers and eight Irish Gulf Oil employees were among those who died when a fire ignited in the ship’s hull as it discharged oil on to the jetty.

In his letter, W Finnegan of Gulf Oil said if one was to believe media reports on the aftermath of the disaster, “you might feel that everyone had their head in the sand”.

Mr Finnegan praised the “magnificent co-operation” received by Gulf Oil.

Reporting in 1980, the tribunal found that active steps were taken by some Gulf Oil personnel, including senior management, to suppress the fact that its dispatcher was not in the control room when the disaster began.

This included false log entries and false accounts of the disaster.

The tribunal blamed tanker owner Total for failing to keep the vessel properly maintained and blamed Gulf Oil for failing to ensure the safety of the men in the offshore jetty.