Report faults Transocean over Gulf spill

Transocean, the operator of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig at the centre of last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill, is to blame for a number of failings that led to the blow-out and resulting environmental disaster, according to a new official report.

The report released on Friday by the US Coast Guard found that the halting of the spill was complicated by “numerous system deficiencies, and acts and omissions” by Transocean and its crew on the rig.

Among those derelictions of duty were poor maintenance of electrical equipment that “may have ignited the explosion”, the bypassing of gas alarms and automatic shutdown systems that could prevent such explosions and a lack of training of personnel on when and how to shut down engines.

“These deficiencies indicate that Transocean’s failure to have an effective safety management system and instil a culture that emphasises and ensures safety contributed to this disaster,” the report said.

The company responded: “We strongly disagree with, and documentary evidence in the Coast Guard’s possession refutes, key findings in this report. The Coast Guard inspected the Deepwater Horizon just seven months before the Macondo incident and certified the rig as being fully compliant with all applicable US and international marine safety compliance standards, including those associated with fire and gas detection systems.

“Further, at the time of the accident the Deepwater Horizon possessed all required valid documents verifying compliance with all international and Coast Guard requirements. The company looks forward to setting the record straight.”

The Coast Guard report also pointed the finger at the Marshall Islands, a former US Pacific territory and the flag state of the Deepwater Horizon, for “abdicating” its responsibilities by delegating inspections to other organisations and not doing its own oversight surveys.

The 250-page report set out a number of recommendations to tighten regulatory and safety policies. But its finding are likely to be controversial despite having the imprimatur of the joint investigations team, which drew members from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.

The explosion, on the evening of April 20 2010, happened at BP’s Macondo well, 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana, killing 11 people and beginning three months of oil spillage into the Gulf of Mexico.

Several of the companies involved in the well filed suits against each other this week, with BP filing a claim against Transocean for at least $40bn, accusing its partner of negligence and causing the drilling rig to be “unseaworthy”.

Transocean called the lawsuit a “desperate bid” by BP to renege on a contract to assume full responsibility for pollution and environmental costs. “This suit is specious and unconscionable,” it said in a statement.