Both started their careers as Army chefs before making the move offshore. Between them, they have spent more than two decades feeding crews across production platforms, drilling rigs and accommodation vessels.

We spoke about what really goes on behind the scenes in an offshore galley.

From feeding more than 550 people offshore, to dealing with food complaints, Christmas dinners away from home and the strange requests they receive on a daily basis, this was a brilliant conversation and one that highlights just how important catering is to morale offshore.

Because if there is one thing every offshore worker looks forward to during the day, it is meal times.

00:00 Intro

If you've worked offshore, I'd love to know:

How important is food to morale on board?

And what is the strangest meal combination you've ever seen someone put on a plate?

On 6 July 1988, 167 men lost their lives in the Piper Alpha disaster.

Joe Meanan was one of only 61 survivors.

In this episode of Wind, Waves & Wells, Joe shares his first hand account of life offshore in the 1980s, working on Piper Alpha, the night of the disaster, escaping from the platform and the lasting impact it has had on his life.

This conversation is not just about what happened on one night in the North Sea.

It is about offshore culture, speaking up, safety, leadership, lessons learned and why Piper Alpha still matters nearly four decades later.

As we mark 38 years since the disaster, this episode is being shared again as a reminder of the people behind the headlines, the families affected, and the lessons the industry must never forget.

Joe speaks openly about the conditions on Piper Alpha, the lack of direction after the first explosion, the decision to leave the galley, the moment he jumped into the sea, being rescued, survivor guilt, accountability and why the offshore industry changed forever after Piper Alpha.

If you work offshore, in oil and gas, renewables, marine operations, health and safety, or you simply want to understand one of the most important moments in North Sea history, this is a conversation worth hearing.

00:00 Introduction

On the night of 6 July 1988, commercial diver Ed Punchard was working beneath Piper Alpha.

Within minutes, he found himself caught in the world's worst offshore oil disaster.

Unlike many accounts of Piper Alpha, this conversation comes from someone working below the platform, coordinating dive operations before escaping as the explosions tore through the installation.

Ed doesn't just describe what happened. He explains why it happened.

From the culture offshore during the 1980s, to the failures that led to the disaster, the rescue efforts aboard the Silver Pit, and the lessons the industry must never forget, this is one of the most detailed first hand accounts you'll hear.

Following Piper Alpha, Ed became heavily involved in improving offshore safety, worked alongside journalists and politicians to explain what had happened, wrote one of the earliest books on the disaster, and later built an award winning career as a filmmaker.

As we mark another anniversary of Piper Alpha, conversations like this remain just as important today.

If you work in offshore oil and gas, offshore wind, commercial diving, marine operations or simply want to understand one of the defining moments in industrial history, this episode is well worth your time.

00:00 Introduction

This week I'm joined by Rob Hinton.

Rob is a former Royal Navy mine clearance diver, commercial diver, military diving instructor and founder of HoldFast Elite and the HoldFast Schools Mission.

We discuss the realities of commercial diving, the risks that come with working underwater, near misses that still stay with him today, and why humour is often a vital coping mechanism in high risk industries.

Rob also shares stories from the North Sea, Norway, West Africa and the Middle East, along with the lessons he learned during nearly 15 years as a commercial diver.

We finish by discussing why he stepped away from offshore life and how he turned his diving experience into a mission focused on mental and physical resilience.

Topics include:

• Royal Navy diving

• Commercial diving offshore

• Near misses and diving incidents

• Offshore culture and dark humour

• Air diving vs saturation diving

• The realities of life offshore

• Mental health and resilience

• HoldFast Elite

• Building purpose after offshore life

0:00 Introduction

0:26 Who is Rob Hinton?

1:05 Learning to dive in South Africa

1:47 Why he joined the Royal Navy divers

2:31 Moving from military diving into offshore oil and gas

4:40 First impressions of offshore life

5:30 Why he left the North Sea to work worldwide

6:41 The reality of risk in commercial diving

7:45 Why dark humour is essential offshore

11:10 Near misses and dangerous situations offshore

12:54 The Norway incident that nearly became a fatality

14:57 Equipment failures and emergency situations underwater

16:54 The closest call of Rob's diving career

20:35 Air diving vs saturation diving

21:31 Why air diving can be riskier than people realise

22:20 What people misunderstand about commercial diving

23:33 The reality of life away from home

25:00 Burnout and the mental toll of offshore work

26:31 Why Rob stepped away from offshore diving

27:50 Creating HoldFast Elite

28:52 Using military training to improve mental resilience

31:13 Building the HoldFast Challenges

32:25 Looking back on life offshore

33:13 Advice for anyone considering commercial diving

34:35 Rob's proudest career achievement

35:39 Closing thoughts

This week I'm joined by Erik de Haas.

Erik has worked across offshore oil and gas, renewables, subsea operations and major marine projects around the world.

We discuss why offshore remains a "prove it, not potential" industry, whether the sector really has a skills shortage, and why valuable experience is often being overlooked.

We also dive into the energy transition, the risks of an increasingly polarised debate, and why energy security may be the missing piece in conversations about affordability and sustainability.

A thoughtful conversation on leadership, commercial decision making, offshore culture and the future of energy.

Topics include:

• Offshore hiring and skills shortages

• Why experience still matters

• Oil and gas vs renewables

• The energy transition debate

• Energy security and geopolitics

• Offshore wind challenges

• Leadership and decision making offshore

• Learning from failure

• Building high performing teams

#energy #energysecurity #offshoreenergy #podcast

0:00 Introduction

0:20 Erik's background and journey into offshore energy

2:56 Moving from engineering into commercial leadership

5:18 Why offshore is a "prove it, not potential" industry

7:30 Is the industry protecting itself from new talent?

8:40 Offshore wind vs oil and gas on developing people

10:12 Why innovation struggles to gain traction offshore

12:34 Why offshore wind treats every project like a prototype

14:23 Where offshore projects lose the most value

16:22 Who really owns project interfaces?

17:31 What actually drives major offshore decisions?

18:51 Is there a disconnect between onshore and offshore?

25:15 Skills shortage or hiring problem?

27:50 Why experienced workers are being overlooked

30:18 Oil and gas, renewables and the energy transition

33:07 The missing pillar: energy security

35:35 Groningen, Aberdeen and domestic energy production

37:22 Energy transition vs energy addition

39:08 What happens when energy shortages become real?

40:59 Politics, taxes and difficult energy decisions

42:52 Why energy should not be a tribal debate

44:55 Learning from what doesn't work

47:24 Erik's proudest career moments

49:35 Advice for people struggling to find opportunities

50:05 The abundance mindset that shaped Erik's career

51:05 Closing thoughts

In this episode of Wind, Waves & Wells, I sit down with Ian Garden, Managing Director of RigDeluge and creator of the False Positives documentary.

Ian discusses concerns he has raised over more than a decade regarding offshore firefighting systems, emergency response planning, rescue capability and what he describes as the growing gap between safety messaging and operational reality.

We talk about HSE investigations, platform shutdowns, speaking up in the industry, leadership, accountability and why Ian believes the offshore sector needs to focus more on action and less on optics.

Whether you agree with Ian or not, this is a conversation that raises important questions about safety, culture and the future of the UK energy industry.

As always, the purpose of this podcast is to provide a platform for discussion and allow listeners to make up their own minds.

00:00 Introduction

00:18 Who is Ian Garden?

01:10 Building RigDeluge and lessons from offshore

04:30 The origins of False Positives

07:12 Documenting concerns since 2013

08:11 Early firefighting system trials and resistance to change

11:20 Flare boom safety concerns

14:00 Taking concerns to regulators

15:10 Six firefighting systems that should have been condemned

18:00 Refusing to continue work on an unsafe asset

19:50 Escalating concerns to the HSE

22:20 Platform shutdowns and industry response

25:50 Being NRB'd and speaking up

28:10 Has offshore safety improved since Piper Alpha?

30:15 Safety culture versus safety performance

32:00 The gap between onshore messaging and offshore reality

33:20 Why False Positives was created

35:30 Industry reaction to the documentary

36:30 Why people are reluctant to speak up

40:00 The 124kg rescue capability debate

45:45 Government policy and the future of the North Sea

50:05 Ian's vision for the UK's energy future

52:00 Politics, energy policy and investment

57:10 What if a major incident had happened?

58:00 Firefighting systems and reliability concerns

01:00:15 Will there be a False Positives 2?

01:02:10 Why Ian continues to challenge the industry

01:11:00 The personal cost of speaking out

01:14:00 Proudest career moment

01:15:20 Leadership, accountability and integrity

01:18:30 Safety in numbers and collective action

01:20:30 Paperwork versus real safety

01:21:00 What happens next?

01:24:00 Final thoughts

What happens when an offshore driller hits rock bottom and decides to rebuild his life from the ground up?

In this episode, I sit down with Keeley Bell, founder of Silverback GRIT, to discuss offshore life, addiction, mental health, leadership, fitness, and why the energy industry needs to start taking care of its people as seriously as it takes care of its equipment.

Keeley shares his journey from the drilling rigs of the Gulf of Mexico to becoming a passionate advocate for mental resilience and personal transformation. From battling alcoholism and surviving a heart attack to building a company focused on improving the wellbeing of offshore workers, this is an honest conversation about the realities many people face but few talk about openly.

The discussion covers offshore culture, isolation, leadership, fitness, sleep, nutrition, mental health, family life, and what companies can do to better support their workforce.

Most importantly, it is a reminder that no matter how difficult things get, there is always another day to keep moving forward.

00:00 Introduction

This episode is one of the most balanced and honest conversations we’ve had on the podcast.

John Underhill, Professor at the University of Aberdeen and Director for Energy Transition, joins me to break down what’s actually happening in the energy world right now.

This isn’t about picking sides.

It’s about understanding reality.

We get into the North Sea, the role of oil and gas in the transition, the truth behind emissions reporting, and why energy has suddenly become such a political battleground.

John brings decades of experience across academia and industry, and gives a perspective that cuts through a lot of the noise.

We also talk about:

• Why the UK has become more dependent on imports

If you want a proper, grounded view of where we are and where we’re heading, this is one worth listening to.

00:00 – Intro

This one is a proper deep dive into the world behind the wells.

Juan Cottier joins me to break down what geology actually is, how it fits into oil and gas, and why it’s one of the most misunderstood parts of the industry.

We get into how oil is really found, the different stages from exploration through to production, and why geologists spend their careers making decisions with incomplete data.

But this goes well beyond rocks.

We talk about the disconnect between offshore and the office

And one of the biggest points in this episode:

Why the oil industry might actually be “eating itself”

Juan also shares stories from working across the world, including West Africa during civil unrest, and gives a brutally honest view on where the industry is heading.

This is one for anyone in energy who wants to understand what’s really going on beneath the surface.

Another one from the Jim & Joe Show and this one goes everywhere.

We start with what’s kicking off globally

Then it turns into exactly what you’d expect

Stories from offshore that probably shouldn’t be told

From diesel spills to dropped gear, to nearly turning the North Sea fluorescent green…

Yeah… it’s one of those episodes

Bit of the usual speaking rubbish and putting the world to right.

00:20 – Catch up and what’s been happening