Whiddy Island disaster 1979

[seafoid]

I vaguely remember seeing this on the telly

One of the survivors has written a book

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/disaster-survivor-pens-powerful-account-of-horrific-night-on-whiddy-island-1.2019489

The Oireachtas tribunal report
http://opac.oireachtas.ie/AWData/Library3/Library2/DL019795.pdf

The key weaknesses that led to disaster were repeated 30 years later with the banks and Total played power just like the ECB did . Light touch regulation and nobody is responsible for anything. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiddy_Island_Disaster

O"ne TD noted that there had been earlier incidents at the Whiddy Island terminal and questioned whether Gulf's status as a major employer had made the authorities reluctant to enforce a rigorous inspection regime.

The Irish government appointed a tribunal to investigate the incident, presided over by Justice Declan Costello. This tribunal took a year to hear evidence and prepare a 480 page report.[10] The report indicated three main factors that had contributed to the incident:
1.   The poor condition of the Betelgeuse for which its operator, Total S.A., was to blame. Immediately before the incident, the vessel's hull and tanks were cracked, corroded and leaking. The 11-year-old vessel had been worked hard and was at the end of its service life.
2.   Incorrect unloading sequences and ballasting which resulted in the buoyancy of the hull becoming uneven and the hull therefore strained. Lack of crew training or knowing malpractice were possible explanations. Total was held largely to blame for this. However, given that all the personnel involved in the unloading had died in the explosion, it was difficult to be certain as to what had happened.
3.   Inadequate and poorly maintained fire fighting and rescue systems both on the vessel and on the jetty. Gulf and Total were held jointly to blame for this. A combination of human failings and financial constraints were the immediate causes.
It was determined that a faulty unloading operation had unbalanced the vessel, causing it to break its back and thereby rupturing several empty ballast tanks. Vapour from the ruptured tanks had escaped into the vessel and exploded in a fireball. However, the Costello tribunal's findings were never accepted by Total: