This is the Ocean Ranger. When it was launched, it was said to be the largest oil rig in the world,

and it was truly impressive. It was like a massive floating stadium built to withstand the

worst weather conditions of the North Atlantic Ocean. But on February 14, 1981, something

would happen on board that for the crew would turn it in to the worst place

on earth to be stranded.

This is the horrifying story of the Ocean Ranger and as always, viewer discretion is advised. By the 1960s, serious exploration had begun off Canada's East Coast, with exploratory oil drilling taking place around Newfoundland and Labrador.

Now, after beginning, the focus quickly zeroed in on this underwater plateau off the coast called the Grand Banks.

This area was once one of the richest fishing grounds in the world and the province depended

on the fishing industry it supported.

However, unfortunately, overfishing was causing the collapse of several species towards

the end of the 20th century, forcing the province to look elsewhere to sustain itself.

Luckily, this area also happened to be rich in oil, and there in 1979, geologists struck

oil at what would become known as the Hibernia oil field.

This discovery was extremely significant and may be the biggest country had ever seen.

Striking oil, however, isn't the same as pumping it, and finding it is only the beginning.

Afterward, the companies involved, which were led by mobile oil, need to figure out just

how big the reserve was.

They needed data, and to get that data, they need to drill a series of wells to map

out the boundaries and capacity of the oil reserve.

This is where the Ocean Ranger came in.

This was a massive cutting-edge drilling rig and was stationed in the air by the

winter of 1982 and began punching a hole in the sea floor. Data then began flooding back

...