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  • Scientific Panel Calls for New Approach to Offshore Safety

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on February 22, 2012

    A scientific panel is recommending that U.S. offshore drilling companies take a more systematic approach to offshore safety in order to prevent a disaster like the BP oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico last year.  The recommendations were made by the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. In a new report, the two ag...
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  • 2nd Worker Dies After Oil Rig Explosion In Gulf

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on November 26, 2012

    A Filipino oil worker died as a result of injuries sustained in the Nov. 16 explosion on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana, the second fatality in the incident. One man is still missing and three remain in serious condition after suffering major burns in the blast.  The U.S. Department of Interior has called on Black Elk Energy Offshore Ope...
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  • Unexploded Munitions In Gulf Pose Threat To Offshore Drilling

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on October 01, 2012

    Millions of pounds of unexploded bombs deposited in the Gulf of Mexico after World War II are posing a threat to offshore drilling, Texas oceanographers say. The United States and other governments disposed of munitions and chemical weapons in the oceans until the practice was banned by federal law and international treaties in the 1970s. Now, ...
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  • One Worker Still Missing After Oil Rig Explosion In Gulf

    by Dennis M. McElwee on November 19, 2012

    A body thought to be one of two workers missing after an explosion on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana was recovered late Saturday night, and the search for another missing worker was continuing. The two workers jumped off the platform into the Gulf of Mexico after the rig exploded Friday. The U.S. Coast Guard had suspended its search for ...
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  • New Zealand Struggles to Contain Worst Maritime Oil Spill

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on November 23, 2011

    Maritime attorneys and environmental groups will not quickly forget last year's Gulf of Mexico oil rig explosion and the resulting spill. In New Zealand, the government is struggling to contain that country’s biggest oil spill, resulting after a maritime accident earlier this month. The Liberia-flagged Rena ran aground on October 5 about 22 km ...
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  • Failure to Identify Gearbox Problem Led to Offshore Helicopter Crash

    by Dennis M. McElwee on December 14, 2011

    The Air Accident Investigations Branch has completed its investigation into an offshore helicopter crash in the North Sea in March 2009 that killed 16 people, including 14 offshore workers and 2 pilots. The report blames the accident on the failure to identify a potential problem in the gearbox just one week before the crash. According to the r...
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  • EPA Bars BP From New Contracts With Federal Government

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on November 30, 2012

    The Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday that BP is suspended from entering into new contracts with the United States government for its actions during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  "EPA is taking this action due to BP's lack of business integrity as demonstrated by the company's conduct wi...
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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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  • Transocean Settles Federal Deepwater Horizon Claims For $1.4B

    by Dennis M. McElwee on January 04, 2013

    The Justice Department on Thursday announced that a settlement of $1.4 billion had been reached with Transocean for civil and criminal claims concerning the Deepwater Horizon oil rig blowout in 2010. An explosion at the oil rig, owned by driller Transocean, left 11 men dead and millions of gallons of oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.  Transo...
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  • Brazil Investigation: Chevron’s Offshore Oil Leak Larger Than Estimated

    by Dennis M. McElwee on July 20, 2012

    A report by Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency reveals that an offshore oil leak near a Chevron well in 2011 could have been prevented and was larger than previously estimated. Previous estimates put the leak at 110,000 gallons, which Chevron says it sticks by. But the Brazilian agency says about 155,000 gallons leaked into the ocean. The repor...
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  • BP Finishes Search For Oil Leak At Deepwater Horizon Site

    by Dennis M. McElwee on December 18, 2012

    BP on Saturday completed a subsea mission to determine whether the Deepwater Horizon site is again leaking oil, the U.S. Coast Guard announced today, but the results of the search have yet to be released.  As of Friday, no leak had been found, according to the Coast Guard’s on-scene coordinator, Capt. Duke Walker. Walker said the remotely opera...
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  • Shell Drilling Ship Drifts A Little Too Close To Alaska Shore

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on July 23, 2012

    A Shell Oil drilling ship lost its mooring in Alaska’s Dutch Harbor last week, drifting dangerously close to shore. Despite witness claims, inspections by divers show no evidence that the ship ran aground.  The 571-foot Noble Discoverer is part of the Shell fleet getting ready for exploratory drilling in the Arctic waters of the Chukchi and Bea...
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  • Body Found In Gulf May Be Missing Worker

    by Dennis M. McElwee on November 28, 2012

    A body recovered in the Gulf of Mexico may be the worker missing since an explosion on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana on Nov. 16. The Jefferson Parish coroner’s office will use dental records and possibly DNA to determine whether the body is Jerome Malagapo, a Filipino contractor. The body was spotted Monday by crewmembers of a supply ve...
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  • Oil Sheen At Deepwater Horizon Site Still A Mystery

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on December 20, 2012

    Despite underwater inspections at the site of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion, BP has failed to identify the source of a persistent oil sheen in the Gulf of Mexico, officials announced Tuesday. Recent inspections confirmed that the Macondo well is secure, both BP and the U.S. Coast Guard said. The well, which blew out in 2010 and poured mi...
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  • Trial Against BP, Transocean In Deepwater Horizon Disaster Set To Begin Today

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on February 25, 2013

    The trial over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill is set to begin this morning in New Orleans before a federal judge, with no jury. Attempts to reach a settlement over the weekend failed, but legal experts expect that one will be reached, at least with the U.S. Department of Justice, within the next few months.  Eleven men were ...
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  • Families of Missing Russian Oil Rig Workers Blame Company Officials for Tragedy

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on February 07, 2012

    The families of 39 crewmembers of the Russian oil rig which collapsed and sank off the coast of Russia last week, are coming to terms with the fact that their loved ones will never be found. Mixed with sorrow is also anger that company officials went ahead with what was possibly a suicidal towing mission. The Kolskaya oil and gas drilling platf...
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  • Pirates Abduct 7 From Oil Vessel Off Nigerian Coast

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on October 18, 2012

    Seven crew members, including six Russians and one Estonian, were kidnapped from an offshore support vessel off the coast of Nigeria after it was boarded by gunmen. Bourbon Offshore, the owner of the attacked vessel, confirmed that nine other crewmembers were still aboard the Bourbon Liberty 249 and in good health. The Paris-based company is in...
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  • BP Workers Charged In Deepwater Horizon Deaths

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on November 16, 2012

    Two BP workers have been charged in the deaths of 11 people in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine, the highest-ranking BP employees aboard the Deepwater Horizon when the explosion occurred, have been charged with manslaughter, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday. They are accuse...
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  • Chevron, Transocean Expect Stiff Penalties After Brazil Offshore Oil Leak

    by Dennis M. McElwee on June 18, 2012

    A Brazilian court has barred several employees of Chevron and Transocean from leaving the country, even as law enforcement officers in the country prepare to file criminal charges against them. The charges are related to an offshore spill involving the company. Last week, the Brazilian Navy reported that a new oil sheen was detected at the oilf...
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  • Oil Workers Evacuated From Housing Platform In Norwegian Sea

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on November 08, 2012

    Rough weather, including gale-force winds and high waves, prompted Statoil ASA to evacuate by helicopter 336 people from a housing platform in the Norwegian Sea, the second time oil workers have faced serious safety issues since September. The platform offers temporary accommodations for offshore workers. The helicopters evacuated workers 15 at...
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  • Offshore Helicopter Flight Abandoned After False Fire Alarm

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on April 24, 2012

    There are a number of dangers that an offshore oil rig worker is exposed to, and one of these is the risk that a worker faces every time he takes a helicopter flight to or from an oil rig or platform. Offshore oil workers make frequent trips between shore and land, and these trips are not without their dangers. Last week, nine passengers on an ...
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  • Judge OKs BP Class Action Lawsuit Settlement

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on December 27, 2012

    Last Friday, a U.S. judge gave the final approval to BP’s settlement with individuals and businesses who lost money and property as a result of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that followed the Deepwater Horizon explosion. The settlement addressed only issues of economic and property damage claims and did not separate medical benefits s...
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  • Stem Cell Treatment Could Help Treat Maritime Workers with Spinal Cord Injury

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on October 17, 2011

    The world's first clinical trial into the use of embryonic stem cells to treat spinal cord injury is continuing in California. Last week, another patient, the first from California, enlisted in the trial. This person has been paralyzed waist down, and is currently undergoing stem cell injection therapy at the Santa Clara Medical Valley Center. ...
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  • Canadian Offshore Drilling Industry Faces Shortage of Experienced Workers

    by Dennis M. McElwee on February 16, 2012

    Canada's offshore drilling industry expects to see limited growth over the next year, because of a shortage of qualified and skilled oil workers. According to the Canadian Association of Oil Well Drilling Contractors, the shortage of experienced workers is a major impediment to the expansion of drilling activities.  The Association says that it...
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  • Fire Rages through Petroleos Mexicanos Platform; No Injuries Reported

    by Dennis M. McElwee on March 26, 2012

    All crew members on an offshore oil platform operated by Petroleos Mexicano have been evacuated after a fire raged through the platform last week. There were approximately 213 workers on the KU-S platform in the Ku Maloob Zaap field in the Bay of Campeche. This is Mexico's largest oil producing field, and for several years now has been a source...
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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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  • No Injuries Reported in Transocean Rig-Supply Vessel Collision

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on February 27, 2012

    No crewmembers have been reported injured in a maritime accident involving a Transocean oil rig and a supply vessel off the coast of Newfoundland. According to offshore safety regulators, the collision involved the offshore drilling rig GSF Grand Banks, owned by Transocean Ltd. and working for Husky Energy Inc., off the Newfoundland coastline. ...
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  • Search Continues For Missing Oil Rig Worker

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on November 20, 2012

    Three more dive boats have joined the search for a contractor still missing after an explosion Friday on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana. The U.S. Coast Guard called off its search, but the company that owns the rig, Houston-based Black Elk Energy Company, continued to look for the missing worker.  One worker has been confirmed dead after...
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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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  • Shell Oil Platform Evacuated After Gas Leak

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on May 02, 2012

    An oil platform operated by Royal Dutch Shell in the North Sea has been partially evacuated after detection of a gas leak. There were a total of 76 crew members on the Gannett Alpha platform operated by Shell in the North Sea. Out of these, 48 members were evacuated, and returned to shore by helicopter. According to Shell, the problem came to l...
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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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  • Federal Safety Rules Released For Offshore Drilling

    by Dennis M. McElwee on August 20, 2012

    A final set of federal safety regulations were issued last week for offshore drilling. The rules are a fine-tuning of the emergency measures enacted after the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent oil spill. The rules deal with how wells are designed and the testing of the cement and barriers that are used to secure them. The go...
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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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  • Brazilian Oil Rig Worker Killed In Fall Accident

    by Dennis M. McElwee on February 29, 2012

    A worker on an oil rig owned by Brazil's national oil and gas agency has been killed in a fall accident. According to Brazilian state-controlled Petrobras, the accident occurred last week on the PUB-03 oil rig, which is located in the Rio Grande do Norte in the northeastern part of the country. The worker and two of his colleagues fell on the d...
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  • BP To Pay $4.5 Billion, Plead Guilty to Felonies In Deepwater Horizon Disaster

    by Dennis M. McElwee on November 15, 2012

    BP has agreed to plead guilty to felony charges, as well as pay $4.5 billion in penalties, in relation to the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion that left 11 workers dead and resulted in a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.The oil giant announced it would plead guilty to 11 felony counts of “misconduct or neglect of ships officers” in ...
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  • 2 Workers Missing After Chevron Rig Catches Fire Off Nigerian Coast

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on January 16, 2012

    Chevron Corp. officials said 2 workers were missing after a rig off Nigeria’s coast caught fire Monday. The company said that 152 workers had been found, but officials were still accounting for all those working on the offshore rig, which was exploring possible deep-water oil and gas fields. The cause of the fire was still under 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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  • 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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  • Black Elk Subpoenaed after Fatal Gulf of Mexico Offshore Platform Fire

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on May 13, 2013

    Just a few days after the disastrous fire on board a shallow water offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico, the federal administration has issued a subpoena to Houston-based Black Elk Energy. The subpoena has been issued by the US Chemical Safety Board, which is seeking details about Black Elk Energy’s safety and environmental management strate...
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  • Focus on Shell’s Offshore Safety Record

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on September 26, 2011

    Royal Dutch Shell is trying to defend its offshore safety record, after attacks by environmental safety groups over a leak from a Shell platform in the North Sea. Shell has confirmed that it has managed to plug the leak from its Gannet Alpha platform, which is located just 112 miles off Aberdeen, Scotland. The leak resulted in more than 200 ton...
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  • Moving Ice Delaying Alaska Offshore Drilling

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on September 13, 2012

    Although preliminary work began Sunday on an exploratory drill 70 miles off the coast of Alaska, a giant block of floating ice was delaying any further work from continuing. A Royal Dutch Shell petroleum drill ship had begun the first drilling in U.S. Chukchi waters since 1991 but was forced to stop after only hours and move away to wait for an...
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  • Thousands Appeal Judge’s Approval Of $7.8B Settlement For BP

    by Dennis M. McElwee on January 21, 2013

    A judge’s approval of $7.8 billion class-action lawsuit against BP for damages from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill is being appealed by more than 10,000 individuals and businesses. The company agreed in March to a settlement of an estimated $7.8 billion for most private plaintiff’s claims of economic loss, property damage and injuries stemmi...
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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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  • Improved Helicopter Crash Training Facilities for Offshore Workers

    by Dennis M. McElwee on April 16, 2012

    Offshore oil industry workers in Canada now have access to greater and more improved helicopter crash survival training. The Marine Institute has announced newly improved facilities for workers in the country's offshore industry. The Offshore Safety and Survival Center located in Foxtrap, Canada has invested in new survival equipment that is me...
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  • Oil Rig That Ran Aground Reaches Safe Harbor In Alaska

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on January 08, 2013

    A Shell oil rig that ran aground on an Alaskan island last week during stormy weather finally reached safe harbor Monday. The rig, which was pulled from a towing ship last week and grounded on the shore of Sitkalidak Island, will be checked out to determine its seaworthiness. No signs of breaches were found on the Kulluk’s fuel tanks. The drill...
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  • Norwegian Rig Personnel Evacuated after Safety Incident

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on May 02, 2013

    Most personnel on board the floating hotel rig, the Floatel Superior in the Norwegian Continental Shelf had to be evacuated after the discovery of a damaged ballast tank recently. The workers woke up in the early hours of the morning to the news that they would have to conduct an emergency evacuation of the rig because of the discovery of a lea...
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  • Welder Injured While Doing Pipeline Work On Offshore Platform

    by Dennis M. McElwee on June 20, 2012

    While assisting in running pipeline on a platform off the coast of Mexico in 2010, a 40-year-old welder was injured when his hand was caught in a snatch pulley. The man suffered partial severing to 8 fingers and an injury to his right shoulder. The incident occurred when the worker was securing a cable that ran through a 36-inch pipeline. Witho...
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  • BP Exec Defends Gulf Oil Spill Report

    by Dennis M. McElwee on March 04, 2013

    A British Petroleum executive is defending a report on the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion in federal court in New Orleans today. Mark Bly was in charge of the company’s investigation into the explosion that killed 11 people and sent millions of gallons of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico. It’s the fourth day of testimony. The civil trial ...
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  • Tests Confirm Isaac Churned Up Oil From BP Spill

    by Dennis M. McElwee on September 11, 2012

    Globs of oil found on two Louisiana beaches after Hurrican Isaac has been confirmed as coming from the 2010 BP oil spill. Louisiana State University tested the oil, found on Elmer’s Island and Grand Isle, for state wildlife officials. It was found to match the biological fingerprint of the hundreds of millions of gallons of oil that spilled into...
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  • Royal Dutch Shell Delays Alaska Drilling Until Next Year

    by Dennis M. McElwee on September 17, 2012

    Royal Dutch Shell announced today after a series of delays and setbacks that it was holding off until next year in its efforts to drill into oil and gas deposits in the Arctic offshore. In the latest delay, the company’s high-tech dome, which is designed to contain oil should an underwater spill happen, was damaged during a test. Shell said it ...
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  • Environmental Groups Sue EPA Over Chemicals Used In Oil Spill Cleanup

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on August 14, 2012

    A coalition of environmental groups from five states filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court claiming the Environmental Protection Agency rules on chemical dispersants used in oil spill cleanups do not adhere to clean water standards. The lawsuit says the EPA has not published regulations on acceptable use of such dispersants in response to oil...
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  • Shell Arctic Drilling Rig Cited For EPA Violations

    by Dennis M. McElwee on January 11, 2013

    A Shell oil rig that ran aground last week has been cited by the U.S. EPA for violating nine conditions of its air-quality permit while drilling in the waters off Alaska, according to a letter issued by the agency Thursday. The findings are the latest in a string of setbacks for the company’s much-debated $5 billion Arctic drilling plans. The K...
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  • No Injuries Reported aboard Transocean Oil Rig Off Ghana

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on July 12, 2011

    All crew members on a Transocean semisubmersible rig off Ghana are reported to be uninjured after reports of water on board.  The water ingress on the Transocean Marianas came to light when the crew members were getting ready to move location.  According to Transocean, the rig was not drilling at the time.  However, all 108 nonessential personne...
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  • Search For Missing Oil Rig Worker Called Off

    by Dennis M. McElwee on November 21, 2012

    The search has been halted for a contractor missing after an explosion on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana. The worker had been missing since Friday.  Jerome Malagapo, of the Philippines, was an employee of Grand Isle Shipyard Inc. and was working as a contractor on the rig, owned by Houston-based Black Elk Energy. One worker was confirmed...
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  • Feds Order Inspection of Drilling Equipment for Possible Defects

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on April 08, 2013

    U.S. authorities have ordered that defective components on subsea equipment on several oil rigs currently operating in the Gulf of Mexico be inspected, because of possibly dangerous consequences. At least 24 oil rigs are believed to be equipped with the faulty component, a bolt which connects blowout preventers manufactured by a General Electri...
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  • Gulf Oil And Gas Production Returning To Normal After Isaac

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on September 04, 2012

    Oil and gas crews are getting back to work in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Isaac passed. The storm has reportedly caused only minor damage to rigs and platforms. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said Monday that more than 58 percent of daily oil production and 39 percent of daily natural gas production in the Gulf is sti...
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  • BP Looking At Possible Oil Leak From Deepwater Horizon Site

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on December 13, 2012

    BP is beginning the fifth day of a subsea mission, under U.S. Coast Guard supervision, to search for possible oil leaks from the site of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, according to reports. The oil rig explosion in 2010 killed 11 workers and leaked more than 7 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over three months before it was finall...
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  • Apache Prevents Possible Well Blowout in Gulf Of Mexico

    by Matthew D. Shaffer on April 09, 2013

    Oil and gas exploration company Apache Corporation has announced that it managed to prevent a possibly disastrous well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico recently.  According to the company, it identified an “abnormally pressured gas zone” during drilling operations conducted in the shallow water Main Pass 295 in the Gulf Of Mexico. The problem was ...
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