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Transocean Report Blames BP For Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Explosion
by Matthew D. Shaffer on July 01, 2011
Transocean has released its investigative report into the Gulf Of Mexico oil rig explosion last April. Not surprisingly to maritime lawyers, the company has chosen to place the blame for the explosion on BP. According to the Transocean press release, soon after the Deepwater Horizon explosion last year, the company commissioned an internal inv...
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Offshore Drilling Safety Bill in Limbo due to Dispute over Revenue Sharing
by Matthew D. Shaffer on July 27, 2011
An important piece of offshore safety legislation that would have clearly defined how drilling safety plans in US waters should progress, is currently left hanging after lawmakers disagreed over revenue sharing payments to states. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee was debating legislation that would enhance offshore drilling sa...
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Death in Crane Accident Southeast of Galveston
by Matthew D. Shaffer on August 18, 2011
A crane collapsed while loading equipment onto a work boat, according to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement report. On Tuesday, August 16, 2011, the boom hoist cable failed, killing one worker on the site in the Gulf of Mexico. The platform, owned by Energy Resource Technology, is now the site of an investigation...
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Judge Rules BP Can Be Sued for Punitive Damages
by Dennis M. McElwee on September 23, 2011
A judge has handed plaintiffs, who sustained losses during the BP oil rig explosion last year, a huge victory. He has ruled that BP can indeed be sued for punitive damages. According to Judge Carl Barbier plaintiffs are allowed under maritime law to make a claim for punitive damages. BP, Transocean and other defendants have insisted that puni...
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Liftboat Capsizes After Waterspouts Strike
by Dennis M. McElwee on October 06, 2011
A Hercules Offshore liftboat that was struck by several waterspouts capsized in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana on Friday evening. Five crewmembers aboard the Starfish vessel were evacuated and rescued at sea shortly after the capsizing. They were treated for minor injuries at hospital in Houma, Louisiana, and released. The vessel, a 140-clas...
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Federal Report Blames BP, Transocean, Halliburton for Rig Explosion
by Matthew D. Shaffer on October 12, 2011
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has laid much of the blame for the Gulf of Mexico oil explosion last year on BP. However, Transocean, the owner of the rig, and Halliburton, which did much of the cementing work on the vessel, have not been spared blame either. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation an...
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Chemical Safety Agency Has Concerns about Offshore Safety
by Matthew D. Shaffer on October 31, 2011
The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board is conducting an investigation into the BP explosion and oil spill last year. The investigation is being conducted at the request of Congress. The investigation is still on, but according to the New York Times, the board has found that lax federal offshore safety regulatory standards were re...
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Bill Would Require Stationing of Rescue Vessels within 3 Miles of Offshore Rigs
by Dennis M. McElwee on January 09, 2012
A bill introduced in the US House of Representatives would require rescue boats to be stationed within three nautical miles of offshore oil and gas drilling rigs. The measure has been sponsored by Louisiana Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia. According to him, the proposal aims to find a common sense approach to the safety problems facing the offs...
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Victory for BP As Court Disallows References to Previous Accidents
by Dennis M. McElwee on April 02, 2012
BP’s safety record is not exactly a secret to the maritime law lawyers at our firm. However, the company’s less-than-stellar record will not be admitted into court during the Deepwater Horizon trial. The trial will apportion blame for the oil explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, which killed 11 workers. But, the court has disallowed ...
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Judge Rules Transocean Need Not Pay Pollution-Related Compensatory Damages
by Matthew D. Shaffer on April 12, 2012
Ever since the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, maritime law attorneys have found Transocean and BP battling over liability and damages. A judge has ruled that Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, does not have to pay any compensatory damages arising out of the marine pollution that resulted after the disaste...
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Shrimpers Missing In Gulf Found By Coast Guard
by Matthew D. Shaffer on April 30, 2012
The U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday located two men on a shrimping boat who had been reported missing. Manuel Gallardo Castillo and Faulsto Gomez Jr. left Brownsville on Thursday, heading for Tampico, Mexico. Coast Guard searchers found the men about 1 a.m. Sunday, a day after they were reported missing. The Mexican navy also was dispatched to help...
