It could not just row away from the platform because the environmental consequences could have been disastrous

It could not just row away from the platform, because the environmental consequences could have been disastrous. Nor could its subsidiary operating the field go into receivership, because no receiver would take on such a complex operation. This was the first time a North Sea field had in effect gone bust. After frantic talks, a voluntary agreement was reached between the banks, Trafalgar and an increasingly anxious Department of Energy.The banks held back, while Trafalgar said it would accept a halving of the charter rate. As a result, it had to reduce the book value of the Emerald Producer from pounds 66m to pounds 23.9m. This was at a time when the conglomerate was running into problems in its other activities - it could ill afford a pounds 42m write-off.The Emerald Producer is still producing - it has sucked up 15 million tonnes of oil and is at least now making an operating profit; MSR's debt- meter has stopped ticking at pounds 100m.

Mr Deaner, who lost a fortune, resigned a year ago, but Mr Hawksley's team is trying to make the best of a bad job. So far from steering clear of oil production, MSR commissioned a brand new platform, not unlike the Emerald Producer, which was built in Italy and is paid for largely by the Italian government. The company will hire the platform out, pointing out accurately that its experience in offshore production is unique.The Emerald Producer itself is in excellent condition, Mr Hawksley says. When the field finally stops producing some time next year, it will be taken by its new owners to another location With luck, it should continue working for many more years. But luck, as Seatankers' managers must know, has not favoured the platform They will be keeping their fingers crossed.. INVESTORS holding Barings unit trusts had nothing to worry about when the bank crashed. Each trust's investments were held separately from the bank and any cash holdings were not on deposit with Barings.

Not only are unit holders in a good position if the company that manages their money goes bust but, due to the structure of trusts, they have added safeguards against any fraudulent activity. As the name suggests, a unit trust is set up under a "trust" structure where the trustee, which in most cases is a bank, holds the money and monitors the investment process to ensure there is no foul play by the manager. To date this system has proved a resounding success with not one case of fraud recorded against a unit trust manager. Of course, these safeguards cannot make up for the risks involved in investing in equities. Victoria Nye, the director of communications at the Association of Unit Trust and Investment Funds (Autif), which represents most unit trust companies, says: "People who would have sleepless nights knowing that their money could fall [in value] at any time should not be investing in a unit trust or any other sort of equity investment."And those who are just looking for the same returns as they would get from a building society should stick with a building society. But for almost everybody else with money to save, unit trusts can play a very useful role."Unit trusts were introduced 60 years ago as a way for individuals to get exposure to the stock market with less risk and expense than in investing in individual companies through a stockbroker. There are now more than 1,600 unit trusts to choose from run by 160 fund management companies.Unit trusts are "pooled" investments - an investor's money is combined with that of other investors to create a fund of millions of pounds. The units investors buy each represent the trust's total portfolio in microcosm.

The pooling of cash allows the management company, which makes the investments on the unit-holders' behalf, to invest in a far wider range of companies and spread the risk.Unit trusts are easy to get in and out of, with no lock-in period and dealing allowed over the telephone - though check the charges as some investment groups levy an exit fee, particularly on Personal Equity Plans. With many trusts investors can either put in a lump sum of as little as pounds 500 or pounds 20 a month. The value of units in each trust is published daily in national newspapers.Over the longer term, when the ups and downs of stock market investment are smoothed out, the returns on the typical unit trust are impressive when compared to those from a building society. An investment of pounds 1,000 10 years ago in the average UK balanced unit trust would now be worth pounds 3,400 (nearer pounds 4,000 in a PEP) compared with pounds 1,400 in a building society account.It is relatively easy to make sense of, and compare, the costs of unit trusts. But one aspect of unit trust investment that continues to cause confusion is pricing. When someone invests in a unit trust, the units are generally purchased from the fund management company at a buying price, traditionally called the "offer" price, and sold back to the fund management company at a lower selling price - termed the "bid" price.