Families of disaster victims declare deaths were ‘unlawful’
Relatives of the 51 victims of the Betelgeuse oil tanker explosion and fire at Whiddy Island in 1979 are to seek a High Court declaration that the deaths were ‘unlawful’.
The certificates currently describe the cause of death of each person as drowning or asphyxiation.
Maritime lawyer Michael Kingston and son of Tim Kingston who died in the Cork terminal disaster, is seeking a “lengthy, honest and heartfelt State apology” and wants commitment of a thorough review of Ireland’s maritime and energy regulatory and safety frameworks.
The apology is also for the staff, rescue service personnel and volunteers whose lives were in danger from the explosion, as well as for the entire Bantry community in West Cork, he added.
Speaking at the 2019 Spirit of Mother Jones festival in Shandon, Co Cork, Kingston said the French-Irish Association of Relatives and Friends of the Betelgeuse intends to crowd-fund on social media to fund the action.
Background
On January 8, 1979, forty-two French and seven Irish men, and the English cargo surveyor, died when then French oil tanker caught fire and exploded at Gulf Oil’s Whiddy Island offshore terminal jetty.
The families say an application will be made to have the coroner’s hearing into the deaths reconvened to return a new verdict of unlawful killing.
“They died unlawfully due the appalling breaches of safety by Gulf Oil, and the failure to address these issues is a fundamental breach of their European rights by Ireland,” remarked Kingston.
This is being sought “in the same manner as the recently successful application under European law by the families of the victims of the 1989 Hillsborough stadium disaster,” to correctly establish the victims’ rights in death, he added.
A report (March 1979) on the disaster by a tribunal headed by Mr Justice Declan Costello identified three failures, and noted the poor condition of the Betelgeuse for which French company, Total SA was deemed responsible.
‘The seriously weakened hull of the vessel was the result of deliberate decisions taken at different times by the management of Total. In particular, deliberate decisions were taken not to renew certain of the vessel’s longitudinals and not to renew the ship’s cathodic protection at the time of its last major dry dock in the summer of 1977.
‘Neither the Master for the Chief Officer could have been aware on the night of the disaster how seriously weakened the vessel was. They were, however, responsible for the manner in which ballasting was carried out.
‘Had the vessel been properly maintained it is possible that its structure would not have failed, but the decisions taken resulted in very large stresses being placed on the centre of the ship and the Master and Chief Officer should have been aware that potentially dangerous sagging conditions could result.
‘Had Total supplied the shop with a loadicator – as it should have – the ballasting error would not have been made. The major share of the responsibility for the loss of the ship must lie on the management of Total.’
State failure
Despite “repeated requests” for assistance to help commemorate those who died, and for a review of Irish maritime regulation, “State leaders have consistently failed to support families and have ignored correspondence regarding safety,” remarked Kingston.
An example of this he says was Ireland’s failure to ratify the International Convention Solas 1974 which included mandatory use of inert gas systems to prevent explosions on oil tankers. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, Ireland ratified the Contention.
The High Court action is being taken on the basis of the Right to Life under Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
