At the memorial service marking the 20th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster, Andrew Jolly, the chaplain to the UK oil and gas industry, told the bereaved families and survivors that Scotland has a duty never to forget.

The names of the dead were read aloud, all 167, with the warning that their lives should never be reduced to a set of statistics.

At the memorial service marking the 20th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster, Andrew Jolly, the chaplain to the UK oil and gas industry, told the bereaved families and survivors that Scotland has a duty never to forget that those who died were all individuals.

"There must always be names with faces, stories of sacrifice and of love, devotion and faith, so that what has gone on before does not become just another statistic," he said. "If we as a community, or as an oil and gas industry, or as a city, or as a country allow that to happen, we should hang our heads in shame.

"Today here in this kirk we will remember them by name, reminding us not just who they are, but who they were and who they will always be to those who knew and loved them."

The men died when a gas leak on the North Sea platform ignited, engulfing it in a massive fireball, on July 6, 1988. The tragedy left a deep scar on Aberdeen, where many of the victims and their extended families lived.

At the service yesterday in the Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting in the centre of the city, First Minister Alex Salmond and the Duke of Gloucester, representing the Queen, joined survivors, relatives of the dead and ordinary Aberdonians touched by the tragedy for a service of remembrance.

As the names were read aloud, many of the hundreds gathered in the church wept.

Before the service, Mr Salmond said: "The service serves a double purpose, as a memorial but also as a reminder of what happened 20 years ago, to help ensure it doesn't happen again.

"We have a new generation of workers in the North Sea now and every generation has to be reminded."

Meanwhile, about 120 miles offshore that new generation of oil workers were paying their own tribute on the Piper Bravo platform, built to replace Piper Alpha and situated just 120 metres from the original rig. A wreath was placed in the sea towards the spot where Piper Alpha stood.

Only 62 men survived what remains the world's worst offshore disaster.

But 20 years later, the maritime union RMT warned that the offshore industry still does not pay enough attention to safety. The union claimed that enforcement on safety issues was lax and the number of inspectors had fallen by almost 40% since 1994.

Outside the church in Aberdeen, families of the victims spoke of the importance of the service.

Sheila Leggat, whose husband Findlay, a 37-year-old scaffolder, died in the disaster, said: "It is nice to know that not just Findlay, but all the men are remembered. He was the person who kept the family together, and part of me went with him that day.

"I would sell my soul to get him back."

Ann Gillanders, whose husband Ian's body was never recovered, helped form a Piper Alpha support group after the disaster. She said: "When the names were read out it really got to you, but I am pleased at how many people came and I hope they were helped by it."

After the service around 400 people gathered at Hazlehead Park in Aberdeen, where there is a memorial garden dedicated to the victims.

Many laid wreaths and floral tributes at the bottom of a bronze statue depicting three oil workers which has the names of the victims inscribed on a marble plinth.

A lone piper played a lament, The Flowers of the Forest, as the crowd stood with their heads bowed, many of them weeping. A wreath was then laid by the First Minister.

Various messages were laid on the floral tributes surrounding the memorial statue. One said: "Thinking of you on this sad day and every day as long as I live."

Another message came from the crew of the Piper Bravo installation, who wrote that the victims were "in our thoughts on this day".

Another simply said: "For my Papa. Wish I could have got to meet you."