One Person Injured in Oil Platform Explosion in Gulf Of Mexico

Posted on September 2nd, 2010 by

It feels a little like April all over again.

This morning, there was an explosion on an oil production platform in the Gulf of Mexico.  At this point, all 13 crewmembers on the platform are believed to be accounted for and safe.  One person is confirmed to have been injured.

According to a statement by the Coast Guard, the crew members were all rescued and have been safely transferred to a commercial vessel.  They are currently in wet immersion suits waiting to be brought to shore.  The platform is believed to be still on fire. The Coast Guard is investigating the incident.  The rig was not actively engaged in producing anything.  At this point in time, there is no report of any oil spill.

The explosion took place on the Vermillion Oil production platform 380.  The platform is owned by Houston-based Mariner Energy.  The Coast Guard has already dispatched a rescue team to the site.  Multiple helicopters, aircraft and a Coast Guard cutter are on their way to the explosion site.

This explosion comes just over four months after the devastating Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico which killed 11 workers and set off the biggest oil spill in US history.  Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like this explosion has had the same impact.  I hope the workers are brought back to shore as quickly as possible so they can be reunited with their families.

Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board-Certified Trial Lawyer whose primary focus is the representation of Jones Act seamen, including tankermen,  galley hands, deckhands, cruise line crews, fishing vessel crew members, offshore workers and other maritime workers in accidents in Texas, across the country and international waters.

If you or a family member has been hurt in an oil rig explosion, order a free copy of my book, Insider’s Guide to Winning Your Maritime Injury Case. You can also contact my office for a free consultation by calling 877.724.7800.

Image courtesy: Flickr  -DVIDSHUB



Somali Pirate Pleads Guilty in Attack on U.S. Navy Ship

Posted on September 1st, 2010 by

This week, a Somali pirate pleaded guilty to charges arising from an attack earlier this year on a U.S. Navy ship off the coast of Africa.

Jama Idle Ibrahim faced several criminal charges arising from the attack, and this week, he pleaded guilty as part of a deal with prosecutors.  Ibrahim had been accused of opening fire on the USS Ashland in the Gulf of Eden.  There were six men on the pirate boat.  The U.S. Navy vessel returned fire, killing one person and capturing the other pirates.

This week, Ibrahim pleaded guilty to attacking to plunder a vessel, use of firearms during a crime of violence, and acts of violence against persons on a vessel.  Earlier this month, a judge in Norfolk had thrown out the piracy charges against the six men, because they had not robbed, boarded or taken control of the vessel.  The piracy conviction would’ve meant a mandatory life sentence for Ibrahim and his five accomplices.   However, the six men continued to face other criminal charges.

Sentencing has been set for 29 November.  Ibrahim is likely to be sentenced to 30 years in prison.  According to US Attorney Neil McBride, this is the first conviction for piracy in more than 150 years.

The unrest and continued political and economic tension in Somalia has created a fertile environment for the breeding of pirates. This continues to be a serious maritime safety issue for seamen.

Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board-Certified Trial Lawyer whose primary focus is the representation of Jones Act seamen, including tankermen,  galley hands, deckhands, cruise line crews, fishing vessel crew members, offshore workers and other maritime workers in accidents in Texas, across the country and international waters.

Image Coutresy: Flickr – Olivier Bruchez



Confusion Marked Last Day of Deepwater Horizon

Posted on August 27th, 2010 by

The Wall Street Journal has a gripping account of the last day on the doomed Deepwater Horizon.  The WSJ has taken Coast Guard hearings and witness accounts to present its version of what went wrong on the 20th of April.

There was much disagreement and confusion during the last hours of the rig.  The confusion began with an e-mail sent by a BP engineer on the morning of April 20th.   In the e-mail was a major change to a safety pressure test conducted to determine the well’s safety.  According to the change, BP wanted to remove an extraordinarily large amount of drilling mud from the well before the test.  It was an unusual way of doing things, and not surprisingly, it left most of the crewmembers confused.

BP has not explained why it wanted a change in the test specifications.  Crew members say that that it is not unusual for a company to begin speeding things up during the last days of a well.  A few hours after the pressure test was approved, the rig exploded, taking 11 workers down with it.

The decisions that were made on that day contributed heavily to the explosion, and some of the key players who made those crucial decisions have taken the safe way out by either declining to comment, or pleading their Fifth Amendment rights.

Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board-Certified Trial Lawyer whose primary focus is the representation of Jones Act seamen, including tankermen,  galley hands, deckhands, cruise line crews, fishing vessel crew members, offshore workers and other maritime workers in accidents in Texas, across the country and international waters.

Image Courtesy: Flickr – Ideum



How Much Do We Really Know about the BP Spill Fund?

Posted on August 27th, 2010 by

Anybody who’s been following the tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico, knows that BP has such aside a $20 billion fund to pay all liability claims arising from the disaster.  However, there are key facts about the fund that, I believe, few people know about.

Money from the fund will be used to reimburse claims arising from state and local response efforts, as well as environmental damage.  There may be very little money left over to pay claims to victims of the explosion.

Contrary to what Ken Feinberg, the administrator of the fund told Public Citizen, the fund is capped at $20 billion.

A BP subsidiary that has very few assets apart from Gulf of Mexico oil leases, will likely be the funding source to pay all costs arising from the disaster.  BP also plans to pay off its liability purely from revenues it generates from oil and gas production.  Do I detect a tiny incentive here for the company to be allowed to expand its oil and gas drilling operations, risky as they are?

The trust comes with no disclosure requirements, meaning that all claims or transactions arising out of the fund will be done without any public oversight.

I’m not sure if the Obama administration has considered how these provisions in the fund agreement compromise the security and future of so many people affected by the spill.  Public Citizen is calling on all concerned Americans to write to the federal administration, to urge them to fix the fund, so that it does ultimately benefit the people it’s meant to help.

Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board-Certified Trial Lawyer whose primary focus is the representation of Jones Act seamen, including tankermen,  galley hands, deckhands, cruise line crews, fishing vessel crew members, offshore workers and other maritime workers in accidents in Texas, across the country and international waters.

Image Courtesy: Flickr – Tracy O



Maritime Retaliation Is Illegal under Texas Law

Posted on August 27th, 2010 by

If you’re a maritime worker who needs to file an injury claim or hire a lawyer, and have been afraid that your employer will fire you for this, you must know that Texas laws protect you 100%.  In fact, under Subtitle B Chapter 451 of the Texas Labor Code, an employer may not discharge an employee or otherwise discriminate against an employee, if

  • The employee has filed a Workers Compensation  claim
  • The employee has hired a lawyer to represent him in good faith
  • The employee has instituted or caused to be instituted in good faith a proceeding under subtitle A (FN1)
  • The employee has testified or was about to testify in a proceeding under subtitle A.

The laws clearly define that an employer cannot retaliate against an employee by threatening him or terminating his employment, just because the employee files a Workers’ Compensation claim or hires a lawyer.  So if you’ve been hesitant about filing a claim or seeking legal advice about your situation, you should know that your rights are safeguarded under Texas laws, and that a maritime attorney will help you protect them.

If you fear that your employer is going to blackball you just because you reported an injury or filed a claim, feel free to contact me at my office.

The maritime lawyers at Vujasinovic and Beckcom represent injured maritime workers and their families across the US and worldwide.  We protect maritime workers who have been blackballed, or are being retaliated against for reporting safety concerns, workplace injuries, or asserting their legal rights.

To learn more about how you can protect your rights, order a copy of one of our free books and reports.

If you want to talk to one of our maritime attorneys immediately, call our toll-free number 877.724.7800 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and schedule an appointment.

Image Courtesy Flickr – Nagyman



Yet More BP-Transocean Finger Pointing at Houston Hearings

Posted on August 24th, 2010 by

The US Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement are conducting another round of hearings into the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, in Houston this week.  The hearings are scheduled to be spread out across five days.  The first couple of days into the hearings have already had BP and Transocean coming out all guns blazing at each other.

Much of the hearing was dominated by BP executives blaming Transocean for the explosion.  The head of marine authority at BP testified that Transocean had found dozens of maintenance issues in an audit that was conducted just seven months before the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

It was then Transocean’s turn.  A member of Transocean’s shore-based management testified that he had expressed doubts about the experience of a well site leader from BP, who had been sent to the rig just a few days before the explosion.  He did mention his concerns to BP, but was assured by the oil company that the person was an experienced BP team member.

The hearings turned pretty chaotic with attorneys firing questions, only to be greeted by loud objections.  It’s been yet another round of hearings, and we’re still nowhere close to confirming exactly what caused the explosion.

Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board-Certified Trial Lawyer whose primary focus is the representation of Jones Act seamen, including tankermen,  galley hands, deckhands, cruise line crews, fishing vessel crew members, offshore workers and other maritime workers in accidents in Texas, across the country and international waters.

Image Courtesy – Flickr – eschipul



UK Health Agency Reports Increase in Offshore Injuries

Posted on August 24th, 2010 by

As we deal with the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon explosion off US waters, it somehow feels worse to learn that offshore workers are not much safer on the other side of the pond either.  Britain’s Health and Safety Executive is pulling up the offshore oil and gas industry for an increasing number of injuries and fatalities.  According to the agency, there has been an increase in major injuries and fatalities and unplanned hydrocarbon releases.

According to the figures released by the Health and Safety Executive, there were 50 major offshore injuries reported in 2009-2010.  That was an increase of 20 injuries from 2008-2009, and higher than the average of 42 over the past five years.  There was an increase in the combined fatal and major injury rate to 192 per 100,000 workers in 2009-2010, compared to 106 in 2008-2009 and 156 in 2007-2008.

There was also an increase in the number of major hydrocarbon releases in 2009-2010, with a total of 85 during this period of time, compared to 51 in 2008-2009.  In 2009-2010, there was also a decline in the number of minor over 3-day injury rates at 414 workers per 100,000, compared with 496 the previous year.

Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board-Certified Trial Lawyer whose primary focus is the representation of Jones Act seamen, including tankermen,  galley hands, deckhands, cruise line crews, fishing vessel crew members, offshore workers and other maritime workers in accidents in Texas, across the country and international waters.

Image Courtesy: Flickr – eschipul



California Law Still Doesn’t Require Prescription Drug Testing for Pilots

Posted on August 23rd, 2010 by

Apart from environmentalists and maritime lawyers, no one remembers much about the 2007 maritime accident involving the Cosco Busan in the San Francisco Bay.

More than 53,000 gallons of oil spilled into the ocean, when the container ship collided with a Bay Bridge Tower, in November that year.  The investigation finally pointed to the impaired condition of the pilot in charge of the ship at the time.  John Cota was on a cocktail of prescription drugs, including Vicodin and Valium.  In the days before the accident, investigators found he had purchased hundreds of pills, including painkillers acetaminophen hydrocodone and diazepam, anti anxiety medications, sleep disorder medications, antidepressants and other drugs.

A National Transportation Safety Board investigation after the accident found that there were many causes that contributed to the collision.  The ship operator had failed to properly equip and train crew members.  The crew had remained unwilling to change or challenge decisions made by Cota.  The Coast Guard failed to warn the pilot that the vessel was off course.  To make matters worse, the pilot had decided to sail off in poor for the weather.  He had according to investigations, misinterpreted triangles drawn on a chart, and sailed right into the bridge tower.  He was not tested for pharmaceutical drugs after the accident.

Cota was sentenced to prison for 10 months.  He has just finished his sentence, but in spite of strengthened laws, pilots in California are still not subjected to prescription drug tests.  In fact, close to three years after the disaster that wreaked so much economic loss, a board committee is still considering whether an enhanced drug policy should be in place.

Since the collision, there have been several changes made to California law.  Bar pilots are now required to carry personal navigation equipment and must undergo medical checkups by a doctor.  They are tested for marijuana and narcotics, but prescription drug testing is still not mandated.

Image Courtesy: Flickr – erix!



Judge Throws out Piracy Charges against Somali Pirates

Posted on August 23rd, 2010 by

A US District Court judge has thrown out charges of piracy against a gang of six Somali men in an attack on the U.S. Navy vessel, USS Ashland this year.

The U.S. Navy ship was attacked off the Horn of Africa in April.  The six were accused of opening fire on the vessel from a small stiff.  The Navy vessel returned fire.  One of the men was killed, and the stiff sank.  All six men in the boat were captured.

Their lawyers argued that their actions did not amount to piracy, because they did not board the vessel, did not take control of the vessel and did not take anything of value from the vessel.  Last week, Judge Raymond Jackson of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, agreed with the defense lawyers.  If the piracy charge had stuck, it would have resulted in a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Although the piracy charges have been thrown out, the six continue to face charges of attacking to plunder the vessel, assault with a dangerous weapon on US officers and employees, and acts of violence against people on the vessel.  The men had early been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of attack to plunder a vessel, piracy, assault with a dangerous weapon, and conspiracy to use firearms during a crime of violence.

The dismissal of the piracy charges should encourage a group of 5 other Somali men who are accused of mounting an attack on the USS Nicholas on 31 March.  These men are also seeking a dismissal of the piracy charges.

Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board-Certified Trial Lawyer whose primary focus is the representation of Jones Act seamen, including tankermen,  galley hands, deckhands, cruise line crews, fishing vessel crew members, offshore workers and other maritime workers in accidents in Texas, across the country and international waters.

Image Courtesy: Flickr – kainr



People Who Settle with BP Cannot File an Oil Spill Lawsuit Later

Posted on August 20th, 2010 by

BP claimants, who are waiting for settlements from the $20 billion fund established by the company to take care of claims, have another frustrating choice to make.  If they decide to accept a settlement from the company, they have no way of knowing for sure if the settlement will cover all the damages, including those they might incur in the future.  If they decide to decline the settlement and file a lawsuit, litigation could go on for years.  It’s like being stuck between a rock and a hard place, and it’s advisable to consult with a maritime lawyer at the time of making a decision.

There is also likely to be other controversy related to the settlements, especially the emphasis on geographic proximity to the spill as the defining factor in determining the eligibility of the claim.  For instance, fishermen and shrimpers who were directly affected by the spill will find it easiest to get compensated.  Beachfront restaurant owners, whose businesses were affected when the oil washed up on shore, will also be compensated quickly.

However, a business supplying fishing equipment to fishermen, but located far away from the beach tainted by the spill, may not be eligible for compensation, even though the business was affected from the downturn in the fishing industry. That means that large numbers of people who weren’t geographically close to the spill on the beach, but had their businesses impacted by the spill, could be left out of the compensation process.

The fact is that the oil spill has impacted a large variety of businesses that were dependent on the fishing, shipping, tourism, hotel and restaurant businesses and other businesses along the Gulf Coast.  Just because these businesses are located far away from the beaches, their claim may be rejected.

Like I mentioned before, these are very difficult decisions to make, and it’s important that you consult with a maritime attorney before you make a decision.

Image Courtesy: Flickr – Amagill



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