CEDH · CASELAW;JUDGMENTS;CHAMBER;ENG — 5 décembre 2013

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display:inline-block } .sC1AC44A4 { width:228.11pt; display:inline-block } .s9138CF0B { margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:36pt; text-align:right } .s379BC09C { margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right } .s5E1364CA { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:14pt } .s20FDDAE9 { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:14pt } .s76CF415B { page-break-before:always; clear:both } .sF6A12959 { width:33%; height:1px; text-align:left } .s85226119 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; font-size:10pt } .s653E6C45 { font-family:Arial; font-size:6.67pt; vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 }         FORMER FIRST SECTION             CASE OF VILNES AND OTHERS v. NORWAY   (Applications nos. 52806/09 and 22703/10)                 JUDGMENT     STRASBOURG   5 December 2013     FINAL   24/03/2014   This judgment has become final under Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision.   In the case of Vilnes and Others v. Norway, The European Court of Human Rights (Former First Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:   Nina Vajić, President,   Peer Lorenzen,   Khanlar Hajiyev,   Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska,   Julia Laffranque,   Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos, judges,   Dag Bugge Nordén, ad hoc judge, and Søren Nielsen, Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 12 November 2013, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date: PROCEDURE 1.     The case originated in two applications (nos.   52806/09 and 22703/10) against the Kingdom of Norway lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on 24 September 2009 and 7 April 2010 respectively. Mr Dag Vilnes brought the first application. Mr Magn Håkon Muledal, Mr Anders Lindahl, Mr Sigurdur P. Hafsteinsson, Mr Knut Arvid Nygård, Mr Bjørn Anders Nesdal and Mr Per Arne Jakobsen brought the second application. Mr Lindahl is a Swedish national, Mr Sigurdur P.   Hafsteinsson is an Icelandic national and the other five applicants are Norwegian nationals. 2.     Mr Vilnes was represented by Mr E. Ludvigsen, a lawyer practising in Tønsberg. The other six applicants were initially represented by Mrs   K.   H.   Øren, a lawyer practising in Oslo. Subsequently Mr Muledal, Mr   Lindahl, Mr Sigurdur P. Hafsteinsson and Mr Nygård were represented by Mr E. Johnsrud, and Mr Nesdal and Mr Jakobsen were represented by Mrs K. Hellum-Lilleengen, assisted by Ms H. Bentsen, all three lawyers practising in Oslo. The Government were represented by Mr M. Emberland of the Attorney General’s Office (Civil Matters) as their Agent. 3.     The applicants complained in the main under Articles 2 and 8 of the Convention on account of damage to their health sustained after serving in diving operations in the North Sea at different times and periods during the “pioneer era” (of oil exploration). The first four applicants complained in addition under Article 3 of the Convention. 4.     On 7 June 2011 a Chamber of the Fourth Section decided to communicate the applications to the Government. It also decided to rule on the admissibility separately (Article 29 § 1). After the recomposition of the Court’s sections, the applications were allocated to a Chamber of the First   Section. On 10 February 2012 the President of the Chamber informed the parties that Erik Møse, the judge elected in respect of Norway, was unable to sit in the case (Rule 28) and that she had decided to appoint Dag   Bugge Nordén to sit as an ad hoc judge (Rule 29 § 1(b)). 5.     On 12 June 2012 the Court decided to join the applications and to invite the parties to an oral hearing. It subsequently informed the Governments of Iceland and Sweden of the applications lodged by Mr   Sigurdur P. Hafsteinsson and Mr Lindahl, respectively (Article 36 § 1 of the Convention and Rule 44 of the Rules of Court). Neither Government expressed a wish to take part in the proceedings before the Court. 6.     A hearing took place in public in the Human Rights Building, Strasbourg, on 18 September 2012 (Rule 54 § 5). There appeared before the Court: (a)     for the Government Mr   M. Emberland , Attorney, Attorney-General’s Office (Civil Matters), Agent , Ms.   A. Hesjedal Sending , Attorney-General’s Office (Civil Matters), Ms.   T. Kjeldsberg , Assistant Director General, Ministry of Labour Ms   B.H. Torstensen , Senior Adviser, Ministry of Labour, Mr.   A Østre , Senior Adviser, Ministry of Labour, Mr.   M. Heidar , Adviser, Ministry of Labour, Mr.   A. Ask , Principal Engineer, Petroleum Safety Authority Norway, Mr.   B. Sandvik , Principal Engineer, Petroleum Safety Authority, Mr.   O. Hauso , Senior Adviser, Petroleum Safety Authority, Advisers ; (b)     for Mr Vilnes Mr   E. Ludvigsen , Advocate ,   Counsel ; (c)     for Mr Muledal and the further five applicants Mrs   K. Hellum-Lilleengen , Advocate , Mr.   E. Johnsrud , Advocate ,   Counsel , Ms.   H. Bentsen ,   Adviser .   The Court heard addresses by Mr Emberland, Mrs Hellum-Lilleengen and Mr Ludvigsen. 7.     On 1 October 2012, the parties were informed that on 18 September 2012 the Chamber had decided that the merits of the applications should be considered at the same time as its admissibility (Article 29 § 1 of the Convention taken in conjunction with Rule 54A § 3 of the Rules of Court) and that, should the Court consider the application admissible, it might immediately adopt a judgment under Rule 54A § 2. The applicants were given a time-limit for submitting just satisfaction claims and certain particulars and the Government were given an opportunity to comment. THE FACTS I.     THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE 8.     The applicants are: 1)   Mr Dag Vilnes, born in 1949, who lives in Tønsberg; 2)   Mr Magn Håkon Muledal, born in 1953, who lives in Førde; 3)   Mr Anders Lindahl, born in 1942, who lives in Avaldsnes; 4)   Mr Sigurdur P. Hafsteinsson, born in 1953, who lives in Jersey (United Kingdom); 5)   Mr Knut Arvid Nygård, born in 1961, who lives in Tananger; 6)   Mr Bjørn Anders Nesdal born in 1958, who lives in Kristiansand; 7)   Mr Per Arne Jakobsen, born in 1954, who lives in Larvik. The third applicant is a Swedish national, the fourth applicant is an Icelandic national and the other five applicants are Norwegian nationals. A.     General background 9.     After the adoption of the 1958 Convention on the Continental Shelf, the Norwegian Government proclaimed in a Royal Decree of 31 May 1963 Norwegian sovereignty over the sea floor and the ground beneath it outside Norway. This was followed up by the 1963 Act on the Exploration and Exploitation of Sub-Sea Natural Resources – the Continental Shelf Act 1963 ( kontinentalsokkelloven ). Drilling in the North Sea area started in June 1966. In this connection diving operations were carried out in part in sheltered waters from barges and smaller boats, for example in relation to the construction and equipment of drilling platforms, and in part in the open sea. During the first years the depths involved were not particularly great. In the Ekofisk oilfield the sea was approximately seventy metres deep, and in the Statfjord oilfield it was approximately 150 metres. To begin with, diving took place from oil rigs, supply ships, drilling ships or pipe-laying ships. From the mid-1970s specially built diving support vessels, operational regardless of weather conditions, were used, and after a while became the usual means. For dives down to fifty metres air gas was used, and decompression took place either in the water or at the surface. 10.     For professional North Sea diving, deep and relatively short diving jobs (rarely more than one hour) were described as bounce diving . This was normally performed with a diving bell and a surface decompression chamber. Two divers would access the diving bell at the surface under regular atmospheric pressure. The diving bell would be lowered into the water and down to the work location on the seabed. When the diving bell was in position at the work location and the necessary tools had been lowered, the diving bell would be put under the same pressure as the work location, normally within minutes. The diver could then leave the diving bell and do the job. 11.     Both the diving bell and the diver would be supplied with gas from tanks attached to the diving bell (normally heliox). One of the divers would perform the job while the other would serve as a combined “tender” and stand by the diver in case something went wrong. When the job had been completed the diver would return to the diving bell. Then the diving bell would be lifted to the surface and connected to a decompression chamber, where the divers would complete their decompression. Heliox would normally be replaced by air when the diving bell pressure was similar to the water pressure, at fifty metres. Generally, bounce diving was perceived as stressful, because divers had little time to do the job on the seabed and felt thermal unease (first the increased temperature when the diving bell was put under pressure, and then hypothermia when entering the water, which was five to seven degrees Celsius). 12.     North Sea dives of longer duration were performed as saturation diving . The divers entered chambers at the surface (on the rig or on the diving support vessel) and were put under pressure similar to that which existed on the seabed at the work location. Then the chambers were connected to a diving bell. Two divers would leave the chamber in order to enter the diving bell, which would be lowered to the work location. The divers and the diving bell would be supplied by gas from the surface. The divers would normally wear warm water suits supplied with warm water from the surface. It normally took several hours from the time the diving bell left the chamber at the surface until it was reconnected. Subsequently, the divers were locked back into the chamber. This way of diving ensured continuous work on the seabed, while the divers could rest, sleep and eat in the chamber. After a period of work of several days or weeks, the divers were decompressed. 13.     Until 1 April 1978 the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority ( Arbeidstilsynet ), an agency ranging under the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Labour ( Kommunal- og Arbeidsdepartementet ), was the public authority empowered and entrusted with the task of administrative supervision of diving operations and the granting of authorisation for such operations. Thereafter these functions were vested in the Petroleum Directorate ( Oljedirektoratet ), an agency under the Ministry of Oil and Energy ( Olje- og energidepartementet ). 14.     The applicants were among the 350 to 400 persons who were permanently linked to Norway and who took part in diving related to the petroleum industry during the pioneer period (commonly defined as 1965 to 1990). After a while it became known that many of them had contracted health problems. Long-term studies carried out at the University of Bergen, the Norwegian Underwater Technology Centre ( Norsk   Undervannsteknologisk SenterAS, hereinafter referred to as “NUTEC”) and Haukeland Hospital, both located in Bergen, showed possible connections between diving and damage to the central nervous system. Once it emerged that the compensation arrangements available covered the North Sea divers’ situation only to a limited degree, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs appointed a commission ( Krombergutvalget ) which on 2   November 1993 submitted a report with recommendations. It was left to another commission ( Habberstadutvalget ) to follow up and coordinate their implementation. 15.     On 27 November 2000 the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health proposed in a note to Parliament that divers who had experienced permanent damage to their health should be awarded an amount of up to 200,000   Norwegian kroner (NOK) (approximately 26,000 euros (EUR), in a lump sum as compensation, whilst emphasising that the State could not be regarded as having acted unlawfully or in a manner open to criticism, bearing in mind what was known at the time when the diving took place. On 13 June 2000 Parliament requested the Government to set up an independent commission of inquiry to assess all matters related to diving in connection with oil activities in the North Sea during the pioneer period. The Commission of Inquiry, which the Government had appointed on 2   March 2001, was led by High Court Justice Mr P.A. Lossius. On 31   December 2002 it presented its report, entitled `The Pioneer Divers in the North Sea ( Pionerdykkerne i Nordsjøen ), Norges Offentlige Utredninger (“NOU” Official Norwegian Report) 2003:5’. The Commission considered that the State had strict legal liability, and should therefore bear the financial responsibility for compensation for injuries sustained by divers as a result of diving in the North Sea and for disorders that they might develop. It recommended the establishment of a State-funded compensation scheme to cover their financial losses, and that licensees and operators should be invited to participate in funding the scheme. An English summary of the report included, inter alia, the following observations: “7.4     Assessments and conclusions after the survey Although the Commission of Inquiry could have hoped for a better basis for their assessments of the pioneer divers’ state of health, it considers that the data obtained permit a qualitatively useful description of the situation. What is most striking is the wide variation: many subjects have managed well, indeed some very well, while a not insignificant share are struggling with serious medical problems. However, a large number, about three out of four, have experienced diving accidents or diving disorders. More than half have suffered decompression sickness, many of them a number of times. The fact that one in five divers has lost consciousness during dives is very serious. This can trigger post-traumatic stress syndrome in genetically predisposed individuals. A disturbingly large number of divers are on disability pension. The fact that relatively young people, aged around 40, are affected is especially significant. This, together with the relatively large number with mental disorders, suggests that many divers have had to deal with heavier stress than most people encounter in the ordinary world of work. In common with findings on the British side, the number of suicides among divers on the Norwegian shelf is disturbingly high. As in the case of other suicides, it is difficult to comment on causes. However, it is not inconceivable that the long-lasting and heavy pressure that divers had to endure may have been a significant factor in the process. When assessing the state of health of North Sea divers it is important to remember that many of them started out as a specially selected and well-trained group of young men. After an average of about 14 years in the North Sea, the majority are in a satisfactory state of health based on the information they have supplied. However, a relatively high proportion have acquired appreciable health problems, illustrated by the fact that almost one-fifth are disabled, and that a number of divers complain of concentration, memory and hearing impairments. The same symptoms are documented in Norwegian and foreign investigations alike. It seems probable that the extreme stress to which many North Sea divers have been exposed at work has been a significant factor behind the disorders that a number of them have developed. “ 16 .     The Commission’s report was sent for comment to the various institutions and organisations concerned. The legislation department of the Ministry of Justice expressed the view that the State did not have a sufficient connection to the oil activity for it to be liable on the ground of strict liability, and that employers’ liability for the State was difficult to envisage, a matter to be considered by the Ministry of Employment and Administration. After the latter had stated its views, the Government affirmed in a note to Parliament that the pioneer divers who had done ground-breaking work in the North Sea from 1965 to 1990 should receive the compensation for non-pecuniary and pecuniary damage they deserved. Although the State was not liable from a legal point of view, the Government considered that it had a particular moral and political duty vis ‑ à-vis the divers. It proposed that a special compensation scheme be put in place, to be administered by a board. 17 .     After parliamentary approval, the Government, by a Royal Decree of 4   June 2004, set up a board empowered to deal with compensation claims from divers under a State-budget financed scheme (hereinafter referred to as “the Special Compensation Board”). The payments were to be adjusted in accordance with the person’s degree of disability according to the assessment made by the social security authorities in their decision on disability compensation, and to be linked to the latter’s base amount ( grunnbeløp, “G”), with 40G or approximately NOK 2,300,000 (approximately EUR   303,000) being the maximum. In addition, divers were granted NOK   200,000 (approximately EUR 26,000) in compensation for non-pecuniary damage. Pending disbursements under the above scheme, by a Royal Decree of 27   June 2003 it was decided to take emergency measures to compensate divers who were in financial difficulty. Following an individual assessment, they could thus be granted amounts of up to NOK   200,000 (deductible from any award made under the scheme mentioned above). This ceiling was later raised to NOK 300,000 (approximately EUR 38,000). 18.     In addition to the above, there existed two further compensation schemes. One, adopted by Parliament on 13 June 2000 (when it requested the Government to appoint the Commission of Inquiry) and in effect since 1   July 2000, consisted of lump-sum payments in amounts of up to NOK   200,000 to divers who were receiving a disability pension and who had a degree of disability of 50% or more. 19 .     Another had been set up by Statoil on 1 November 2001, under which divers could apply for compensation regardless of whether they had been employed by the company. Under the latter, amounts of up to NOK   750,000 (approximately EUR 99,000) could be granted. B.     The factual circumstances underlying the applicants’ complaints 20.     The applicants submitted that they were disabled and had lost their capacity to work as a result of North Sea diving. Each of them received a disability pension and ex gratia compensation from the State, and some had received compensation from other sources, notably from Statoil. 1.     The applicants’ submissions as to their individual experiences (a)     Mr Vilnes 21.     From the age of sixteen Mr Vilnes worked as a seaman for periods, pursued studies in mechanics and underwent secondary education and served as a marine soldier in the army until 1974. During the latter period he worked as a diver. From 20 May to 9 September 1975 Mr Vilnes was employed by the diving company ThreeX Diving Ltd., where he first worked as a diver and then as a diving team leader. Thereafter, he pursued further education in Switzerland. For a period, he took on diving jobs in parallel to studying. (i)     Incidents at the Arctic Surveyor 22 .     From early 1976 until 27 June 1978 Mr Vilnes was employed by Deep Sea Diving and was assigned to carry out work for the diving company Scan Dive AS. He worked offshore, on board the diving vessel Arctic Surveyor (“the Arctic Surveyor ”) at the Ekofisk oilfield in the North   Sea. The diving was carried out at an approximate depth of seventy ‑ five metres. The work consisted amongst other things of installing and repairing transport structures through the Ekofisk oilfield to Teesside in England and Emden in Germany. 23.     Mr Vilnes submitted that during this period he had been exposed to several incidents in diving operations endangering his life and health. For instance, in 1977 he had been exposed to serious spinal decompression sickness owing to an excessively rapid decompression. This had most probably been the cause of his permanent brain and spinal injuries. 24 .     Mr Vilnes had further experienced that the umbilical supplying him with breathing gas and several other necessities had been pinned under a cement block weighing several tons that had been lowered from the sea surface. He had also experienced being pulled by the umbilical as the vessel drifted. He was not injured but, he pointed out, that drifting had been particularly dangerous because of the presence of a number of installations and devices on the sea floor, in which he could have been caught up or which could have led to the umbilical being torn off, with probably fatal results. 25 .     Mr Vilnes had also experienced the gas being cut off at a depth of seventy metres. In a diving operation in 1976 the Arctic Surveyor had been damaged in a hurricane while he and other divers were undergoing saturation. It was impossible for Mr Vilnes and the other divers to leave the vessel, and they had had to remain in the saturation chamber while the ship was taken to shore for repairs and was then brought back to sea in stormy weather so that work could continue. 26.     While assigned to the Arctic Surveyor , Mr Vilnes performed bounce diving and saturation diving. He spent a total of 200 days doing saturation diving, which lasted nineteen days and nights on average, the longest period being twenty-six days and nights (see paragraph 77 below). 27.     On 27 June 1978, after a conflict with his superior, Mr Vilnes was dismissed from his job with Scan Dive AS. 28.     From March 1979 to October 1981 Mr Vilnes worked with a Danish   company, Tage Nielsen & Co. K/S, on a project aimed at developing a special foam for use in rescue operations. He also worked on a number of other projects up to 1983. (ii)     Incidents at the Tender Comet 29.     In 1983 Mr Vilnes was employed by the diving company Wharton   Williams Taylor (2W), which had been hired by the then Mobil   Oil to carry out diving operations, inter alia in connection with repairs to a buoy at the Statfjord oilfield on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The diving operations were carried out from the diving vessel Tender   Comet (“the Tender Comet ”) as deep as 180 metres. 30.     From 10 to 29 June 1983 Mr Vilnes had taken part in a saturation dive which had been planned to last for approximately two weeks. The dive had been shorter than planned, as Mr Vilnes had experienced a very serious breach of the safety requirements pertaining to divers, and had chosen to discontinue the dive. He had amongst other things suffered from earache and severe pain during decompression. He submitted that the diving from the Tender Comet had been conducted with tables, routines and equipment which were dangerous and harmful to him. It had caused him to suffer Post   Traumatic Stress Syndrome (“PTSD”) and buzzing in the ears. 31 .     A few days before Mr Vilnes boarded the Tender Comet , the Petroleum Directorate had carried out an inspection on board the vessel, formally as an observer of the diving company’s internal quality control. The medical logbook had indicated that a number of incidents of sores and infections had occurred, that seven people had had earache or infection in their ears (one of which could have been due to the overuse of tablets), that one person had had eye problems, that two people had become ill in the diving bell and had had to stop the dive, and that there had been four   instances of decompression sickness involving two people. 32.     According to Mr Vilnes, the humidity inside the decompression chamber had been consistently at 90-100%; communication between the diving bell and the diving vessel had been deficient, so that it was impossible for divers to make contact when communication took place between a diver and the diving bell. He had thus risked not being heard in the event of a crisis, at a depth of 180 metres. The diving bell also had shortcomings. For example the spring lifting the door at the bottom of the bell was broken, so that divers had to use their own strength to lift the door. 33.     The decompression was not stopped during the night while divers were asleep, thereby increasing the risk of bubbles accumulating in the absence of any movement in their joints. This had led to unnecessary and considerable pain. In addition, Mr Vilnes had suffered earache during the dive, making decompression even more painful. 34.     The Norwegian authorities had approved the diving operation and had granted a dispensation with regard to the maximum length of the umbilical and the saturation time. 35.     Mr Vilnes complained to the Petroleum Directorate and lodged complaints against the diving company with the police on 17 October 1983. In response, the Petroleum Directorate carried out an inspection on board the Tender Comet, which revealed several shortcomings regarding divers’ safety. 36.     Several Tender Comet divers were also interviewed by police . In February 1984 the police communicated the matter to the Petroleum Directorate, which in May 1984 asked the police to carry out further interviews. After doing so, the police again communicated the case to the Petroleum Directorate for comment; on 26 March 1985 the Directorate made a statement to the police. In May 1985 the police recommended to the State Prosecutor that the case be dropped as time-barred. On 18   September 1985 the police telephoned Mr Vilnes and informed him that the case was time-barred. 37 .     Mr Vilnes complained to the State Prosecutor of Rogaland and to the Petroleum Directorate about their handling of his police complaint of 1983, which as a result of having been sent back and forth between them had become time-barred. This led to an internal inquiry in the Directorate and an inquiry report, and subsequent criticism of the report expressed by an officer of the Directorate. (iii)     Subsequent events 38.     After the above-mentioned dive at Tender Comet Mr Vilnes ended his career as a diver. From 1984-86 he was employed at the State Diving School and then decided to terminate his employment after a disagreement with the management. From 1988 until 1 June 1989 Mr Vilnes was employed at Borregaard Engineering AS. From 1990 onwards he was employed by his own limited liability company and did various jobs. Mr   Vilnes has not worked since 2000. 39 .     Mr Vilnes was one of several divers who were examined by Haukeland University Hospital in August 2002. According to a specialist statement of 20 February 2004 given by the department of occupational medicine, Mr Vilnes suffered from a pathological condition potentially related to a “lazy” left leg after spinal bends in 1977. His medical invalidity resulting from slight encephalopathy was assessed at 20%. Buzzing in the ear and reduced hearing had produced a 5% reduction. His other neurological symptoms were so unspecific that they could not be verified. Possible PTSD had to be the subject of another assessment. 40 .     According to a psychiatrist’s statement of 10 June 2004 Mr Vilnes was clearly suffering physically and psychologically from work-related injuries. He had a delayed development of PTSD which was becoming more and more apparent and present. His condition was chronic and was difficult to treat in any other way than Mr Vilnes’ adapting himself to his own reduced capacities. Since his condition was unstable it was difficult for him to plan and he could not therefore take on an ordinary job in which he had to fulfil conditions and meet expectations. He needed flexibility. He needed to use his remaining capacities for himself in order to manage the exigencies of daily life. His psychological incapacity was assessed at 34%. 41 .     On 16 August 2005 the Social Security Office granted Mr Vilnes work-related injury benefits, taking the view that his injury dated back to 1   January 1985. On an appeal by Mr Vilnes, the Social Security Court ( trygderetten ) maintained the latter date by a judgment of 7 July 2006. It held that his medical invalidity amounted to 40%, covering a low degree of encephalopathy, reduced hearing, buzzing in the ear and PTSD. 42 .     Under the special compensation schemes described under paragraphs 16 to 18 above Mr Vilnes received various sums totalling NOK 3,613,657 (approximately EUR 476,000) in compensation (including NOK 300,000 in Immediate Aid from Rogaland County Social Security Office, NOK   750,000 in support from Statoil, NOK 2,451,120 from the Special Compensation Board (which amount included NOK 200,000 in ex gratia compensation for non-pecuniary damage), and NOK 112,537 in compensation for permanent injury). (b)     Mr Muledal 43 .     Mr Muledal worked as a North Sea diver from 1978-89. He performed saturation dives for periods totalling approximately 500 days and also performed approximately 200 bounce dives. In a medical assessment by Haukeland University Hospital dated 28 June 2005, it was stated that on two or three occasions he had suffered from bends in the joints. He had also suffered several diving accidents and had had near accidents. On a number of occasions, he had been exposed to a gas-cut while diving. He had recovered several dead bodies in the sea following the accident on the Alexander Kielland drilling rig (which capsized during operations in the Ekofisk field in March 1980, killing 123 people). 44 .     Mr Muledal participated in a test dive known as “OTS III” at a depth of 360 metres which lasted twenty-eight days (see paragraph 109 below). He lost seven kilos because he could not eat properly during the dive and has suffered from stomach problems since. He also suffered from High   Pressure Neurological Syndrome (HPNS). 45 .     As a consequence of contracting chronic obstructive lung disease, he lost his diving licence in 1987. For that reason, his former employer, Aker   Comex, terminated his employment in 1989. The said disease constituted a 15% disability. He may also have PTSD. He sustained damage to his hearing which may increase his degree of disability. In addition, he is suffering from encephalopathy, which represents a 20% disability. 46 .     From 1990 he received a 50% disability pension with occupational injury benefits and, from November 2008, a 100% disability pension. 47 .     Under the special compensation schemes described under paragraphs 16 to 18 above Mr Muledal received in total NOK 3,646,635 (approximately EUR 480,000) in compensation (including NOK 150,000 in Immediate Aid from Rogaland County Social Security Office; NOK   375,000 in support from Statoil; NOK 200,000 in ex gratia compensation from Parliament; NOK 2,057,230 plus another NOK 364,405 from the Special Compensation Board; and NOK 500,000 for loss of licence). (c)     Mr Lindahl 48 .     Mr Lindahl served as a North Sea diver from 1970-1993. He stated that thereafter he worked as an inshore construction diver on a significantly lower salary in a job that was easier to handle, despite his health problems. Because of chronic obstructive lung disease, he lost his medical certificate for diving in 2002. In a medical report on him by Haukeland University Hospital dated 26 February 2003 and an undated psychologist’s report, it was noted that he had suffered from decompression sickness twenty times, with skin bends, mostly in the early phase of his career, and that these incidents had not been treated in a decompression chamber. It was further noted that he had been treated a number of times for decompression sickness involving skin bends and joint bends, and once, in 1981, for vestibular decompression sickness after diving at depths ranging between 120 and 150 metres on a North Sea saturation dive. As a result of the latter his hearing became impaired. 49.     During his first saturation dive in 1974, Mr Lindahl and several colleagues experienced sudden decompression and error in gas supply due to power failure, leading to unconsciousness among the divers. Mr Lindahl also suffered from generalised convulsions. He submitted that incompetence and routine failings had caused the incident. Mr Lindahl had recovered bodies of people who had died in accidents. He had also experienced uncontrolled decompressions and near-accidents in which heavy objects had almost hit him while diving. 50 .     Mr Lindahl participated in the Deep Ex I test dives to 300 metres and Deep Ex II to 504 metres. During Deep Ex I, he experienced decompression sickness, and Doppler tests revealed gas bubbles in the artery. 51 .     According to a specialist medical statement dated 11 May 2008, diving in the North Sea caused him injury, including reduced lung capacity, producing a medical disability of 20%. Furthermore, he was 30% disabled by PTSD. Since 2003 he has received a 100% disability pension with occupational injury benefits, the occupational injury being assessed to have been originally sustained in 1985. 52 .     Under the special compensation schemes described under paragraphs 16 to 18 above Mr Lindahl received various sums totalling NOK 3,066,739 (approximately EUR 403,000) in compensation (including NOK 200,000 in Immediate Aid from Rogaland County Social Security Office; NOK   315,619 in support from Statoil; NOK 2,351,120 from the Special Compensation Board, which amount included NOK 200,000 in ex gratia compensation for non-pecuniary damage). (d)     Mr Sigurdur P. Hafsteinsson 53 .     Mr Sigurdur P. Hafsteinsson was employed as a North Sea diver from 1978-90. After his medical certificate for diving was withdrawn in 1990, he worked as a dive supervisor and did other similar jobs. From 2001 his health gradually worsened, and from 2003 he was found to have 100% occupational disability. 54.     According to a medical statement by Haukeland University Hospital of 2 May 2003, he had participated in two deep dives at 350 and 400 metres and had spent more than 300 days in saturation. He had suffered bends on three occasions (in his right knee). On several occasions he had witnessed fatal accidents and experienced near accidents. 55.     For instance, he related an incident in 1982 when, while on a saturation dive at a depth of 150 metres, he and three fellow divers had just returned to the chamber when an unskilled worker was about to loosen a clamp that connected the diving bell to the diving chamber. Fortunately, the supervisor had heard the noise and managed to intervene just in time. Had this operation not been stopped, the divers would have been subjected to an explosive decompression. A similar error had led to the death of five people and seriously injured a sixth person in a diving bell on the Byford Dolphin rig in 1983. 56.     On one occasion, in 1984, Mr Sigurdur Hafsteinsson’s umbilical and the diving bell wire had been trapped in drilling wires and had been damaged. On another occasion, when working at a depth of seventy metres, there had been a powerful explosion which had caused sudden pain to his head and ears and possibly unconsciousness. He had been bleeding from the ears. Following this accident, he had suffered from impaired hearing. He had taken part in recovering bodies from the Alexander Kielland accident (see paragraph 43 above). 57 .     According to Mr Sigurdur Hafsteinsson, in 1983 and 1985, he had participated in test diving at NUTEC. In the first test dive, called Statpipe, divers had been taken down to 350 metres. In the second test dive, called Troll (the name of the rig), divers had been taken down to 450 metres. At 450 metres, he could hardly breathe and panicked. One of his colleagues had collapsed and had to be revived. In 1990, his diving licence was revoked. The medical expert declaration from Haukeland Hospital concluded that diving had caused him to suffer from an obstructive lung disease constituting a 25% medical disability. A medical expert in psychiatry had concluded that he suffered from PTSD representing a 35% disability and that he was 100% disabled. 58 .     Under the special compensation schemes described under paragraphs 16 to 18 above Mr Sigurdur Hafsteinsson received various sums, totalling NOK 5,901,120 (approximately EUR 776,000) in compensation (NOK   2,551,120 from the Special Compensation Board, which amount included NOK 200,000 in ex gratia compensation for non-pecuniary damage; NOK 2,750,000 from Chartis Insurance; and NOK 600,000 for loss of licence). (e)     Mr Nygård 59.     Mr Nygård worked as a North Sea diver from 1987-94. He carried out more than 200 air dives and saturation dives totalling approximately 200   days. He experienced numerous accidents and near-accidents as a North Sea diver. For instance, in 1988 he was almost hit by a crane ball (the massive hook on the vessel’s main lifting crane, weighing between 100 and 300 kilos) while working at a depth of 150 metres, and just barely escaped death. His supervisor had apparently removed his headset and had not heard Mr Nygård’s message of “all stop” and therefore had not told the crane operator to stop the crane. 60.     In 1990, while working at thirty metres in saturation, an oxy-arc (cutting tool) had exploded in his hand, hitting him hard in the chest, because a riser (a pipe conducting oil and gas between the sea bed and the oil rig) which Mr   Nygård was burning had not been emptied of water, although the supervisor had confirmed several times that there was no water pressure in it. Consequently, the water pressure had blown the flame, sparks and oxygenic gas back at the oxy-arc that Mr Nygård was holding, which had thus exploded in his hands. 61.     Mr Nygård further stated that in 1995 his medical certificate for diving had been revoked, as a result of his being diagnosed with chronic obstructive lung disease. For most of 1995 he had been on sick leave, and between 1995 and 2000 he had received retraining benefits as part of his re ‑ adaptation funded by social security after he had quit diving. He obtained a degree in economics, and worked for a couple of years until he became incapacitated by his health problems. 62 .     According to a medical expert opinion dated 24 October 2005, mainly due to diving in the North Sea, Mr Nygård suffered from several medical disabilities, of which chronic obstructive lung disease amounted to 15%, PTSD to 34% medical disability, diver hands to 10%, and encephalopathy to 14 %. With effect from 1 October 2003 he was granted a 100% disability pension with occupational injury benefits. He submitted to the Court that his encephalopathy and chronic obstructive lung disease probably resulted from the use of rapid (dive) tables. 63 .     Under the special compensation schemes described under paragraphs 16 to 18 above Mr Nygård received various sums totalling NOK 6,773,935 (approximately EUR 891,000) in compensation (including NOK 3,651,560 and NOK 1,130,968, respectively for past and future loss of income from Vesta Insurance under the Workers’ Compensation Act; NOK 1,254,196 from the Special Compensation Board, which amount included NOK   200,000 in ex-gratia compensation for non-pecuniary damage, and after deduction of the amount granted for future loss by Vesta Insurance; plus a further NOK 242,796 from the board, NOK 57,999 plus NOK   136,416 in compensation for permanent injury, and NOK 300,000 for loss of licence). (f)     Mr Nesdal 64 .     Mr Nesdal worked as a North Sea diver from 1982 to 1994. In parallel he also worked as an assistant diving attendant. In 1988 and 1989 he experienced dizziness on several occasions while diving and when off work. His health gradually deteriorated and in 1994 he quit diving. He later qualified to work as a sheet metal worker, which enabled him to pursue gainful employment until 2001, when he was granted a disability pension. 65 .     According to a medical statement by Haukeland University Hospital of 27 January 2005, he had experienced bends in his left elbow and had on two occasions suffered from decompression sickness assessed as bends in his lymph. On all three occasions the symptoms had disappeared following treatment in a compression chamber. He had later suspected that the bends in his lymph could have related to something else.