offshore worker’
Crewmember Says Workers Pressured to Work Harder Just before BP Explosion
Sunday, June 13th, 2010
CNN's Anderson Cooper has a special report out featuring accounts from some of the survivors of the BP Deepwater Horizon rig explosion in the Gulf Mexico. It is becoming more and more clear that safety precautions were thrown out the window as pressure mounted on the workers and the crews to work faster.
Deepwater Horizon crewmember Stephen Stone was one of the 115 workers who were rescued from the rig after it exploded. His wife spent an agonizing 24 hours, not knowing if he was alive or killed in explosion, and finally meeting him at a...
Transocean Will Petition to Limit Liability in Oil Rig Explosion
Thursday, May 13th, 2010
[caption id="attachment_2134" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Transocean_explosion"][/caption]
Transocean will file a petition in a Houston court to limit its liability in the oil rig explosion last month. Several media channels are reporting that the company which is the owner and operator of the Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible rig, is expected to file its petition at the US District Court in Houston.
Limitation of liability statutes allow a vessel owner to limit the extent of damages that it may have to pay out. A vessel owner may move to file a limitation of liability petition after a maritime accident, and it can dramatically impact any...
Investigators Zeroing in on “Unusual” Processes as Transocean Oil Rig Explosion Probe Continues
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
[caption id="attachment_2130" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Transocean_explosion"][/caption]
Did unusual processes have a part to play in the Transocean oil rig explosion last month? These questions are surfacing as congressional hearings into the explosion begin. According to the Seattle Times, investigators are looking more closely at whether the decision to remove drilling lubricants early from the pipeline, played a part in the explosion. Investigators will be looking at this and other such unusual steps. Obviously, crew members on the rig will be able to provide valuable information that can help investigators understand the reasons for the explosion.
There has been other...
Oil Industry Opposed Blowout Preventer Regulations for Years
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
[caption id="attachment_2099" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Deepwater_Horizon_Fire"][/caption]
Now that the Transocean oil rig explosion is being traced to a blowout preventer on the rig, the oil industry is facing accusations that for years, it has blocked regulations that could have likely prevented explosions like the one that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico.
According to Huffington Post, in 2000, The International Association of Drilling Contractors, an industry group that also includes Transocean, objected to proposals that would have required them to install a special type of blowout preventer, known as a blind shear ram. The device works to stop...
Oil Rig Worker Suffers Leg Injury on Offshore Supply Vessel off Corpus Christi, Texas
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
Work with mooring lines tends to be some of the deadliest work on a vessel. An offshore supply vessel worker has suffered a debilitating leg injury in an accident involving mooring lines off Corpus Christi, Texas.
The man was working alongside the rig when he became entangled in the mooring lines. The man's leg was severed from his body. He had to be medevaced by the Coast Guard. He was airlifted to a Corpus Christi hospital, and his condition is reported to be critical, but stable.
I don't have additional details about this particular accident, but it does seem like this...
Transocean Oil Rig Explosion Fallout Worse Than Earlier Believed
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
[caption id="attachment_2067" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Transocean_offshore_explosion"][/caption]
The fallout from the Transocean oil rig explosion last week is believed to be much worse than earlier expected. In fact, the federal government is becoming concerned at the failure of BP, the company that operated the Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible rig, to contain the spill. BP this week confirmed that it would welcome any help from the US military, in containing the spill.
According to several news reports, the size of the spill is believed to be at least five times worse than initially thought. Early estimates had placed the leak at about 1,000 barrels a...
Transocean Oil Rig Explosion:Lawyer Brian Beckcom Discusses Offshore Industry Safety Violations with Wall Street Journal
Friday, April 23rd, 2010
[caption id="attachment_2009" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Transocean_offshore_explosion"][/caption]
In the wake of the biggest offshore industry tragedy in the past 50 years, I have been closely tracking news developments related to the Transocean oil rig explosion, and have been updating my websites and blogs to make this information available to the public.
As part of these efforts, I have also been speaking to major news media publications. Yesterday, I spoke with the Wall Street Journal about the possible causes for the Transocean oil rig explosion. Unfortunately, as an offshore injury lawyer, I often see that employees are discouraged from bringing...
Hopes of Finding Missing Offshore Workers after Gulf Of Mexico Oil Rig Explosion, Are Fading
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
Hopes for finding the 11 missing oil workers, who were on the semi submersible rig Deepwater Horizon which exploded on Tuesday, are fading. Search and rescue efforts are still continuing, but the longer the workers remain in the ocean, the dimmer their chances of survival.
The Coast Guard says that it is likely that the workers were at the explosion site. As an offshore injury lawyer, I have been closely monitoring these developments, especially those related to the safety of the missing workers. The Coast Guard has been issuing alerts every few minutes. Unfortunately, with every alert, hopes...
Louisiana Senator Calls for Investigation into Gulf of Mexico Oil Rig Explosion
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana has called for a swift and thorough investigation into the offshore rig explosion off the Louisiana coast on Tuesday.
Eleven workers still continue to be missing since the Transocean rig explosion, although hopes of finding them grow dimmer by the minute. Seventeen people have been injured, at least two of them very seriously. The injured persons have been airlifted to hospitals. The 111 survivors of the explosion have been brought back to shore in Louisiana where they have been reunited with their families.
Now Louisiana's prominent senator is calling for a swift investigation...
Gulf Of Mexico Oil Rig Explosion Survivors Reach Shore Safely
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
[caption id="attachment_1992" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Transocean_ Offshore_Rig_Explosion"][/caption]
The Associated Press is reporting that a boat carrying about 100 survivors of the massive explosion that rocked a Transocean-owned oil rig in the Gulf Mexico, has reached shores safely.
The boat carrying the survivors has docked in Port Fourchon in Louisiana. Several families had traveled to Port Fourchon to meet their loved ones, and welcome them. However, before the traumatized workers met with their families, they were checked out by a port doctor. After meeting with the doctor, the workers were then taken to a hotel in suburban New Orleans, where their families were...
