Employees of Transocean, who were on board the Deepwater Horizon-semisubmersible rig, have now become the focus of an investigation into the disaster. Two Transocean employees, chief engineer Stephen Bertone and chief engineer technician Mike Williams have been designated as parties of interest by a hearing panel consisting of the US Coast Guard and the Interior Department. With that, the number of Transocean workers who are likely to face charges in the accident, has increased to five.

If Transocean employees are found to have acted in a manner that contributed to the explosion, then they could face criminal charges. The fact that they could’ve possibly been following orders from the company, will likely not be a defense in this case. Other Transocean employees who have been named as parties of interest include rig installation manager James Harrell, Captain Kurt Kotcha and chief mechanic Douglas Brown. No one from BP has been named as a party of interest yet.
The Coast Guard and Interior Department hearings into the Deepwater Horizon explosion, are continuing. So far, it seems that the panel, which consists of six members, is divided about which part of the rig operations to focus their investigation on. The Coast Guard seems more focused on marine safety, while the Interior Department seems to be looking at the design of the well and the kind of drilling practices that were followed. Soon, the investigators will look at BPs role in the explosion, including how the company directed Transocean to implement the drilling program.

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.

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