“In Memoriam”
Description
The supply boat has to stand by and watch Ocean Ranger sink. ODECO collects its eighty million from Lloyd's acknowledging no blame. The singer hopes the inquiry and "days when lives are sacrificed to corporate greed" end soon.
Notes
Lehr/Best: "ODECO, or the Ocean Drilling and Exploration Company, is the American company that owned the Ocean Ranger."
For a detailed account of the disaster and its causes see _Inviting Disaster: Lessons from the Edge of Technology_ by James R. Chiles (HarperBusiness paperback, 2002), pp. 18-36. While Lehr/Best sees the ballad as questioning the courage of the crew of the supply ship _Seaforth Highlander_, Chiles has them doing the best they could. - BS
Historical references
- Feb 15, 1982 - The Ocean Ranger oil rig, 225 miles east of Cape Race, Newfoundland, sinks in a storm. All 84/86 are lost. NSDB: "It's said everyone in NF was related to, or knew, someone onboard" (Lehr/Best, Northern Shipwrecks Database)
References
- Lehr/Best 55, "In Memoriam" (1 text, 1 tune)
- BI, LeBe055