Coast Guard Slams Transocean's Safety Record

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – The preliminary report comes after hearings held throughout the Gulf Coast with the U-S Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. It deals with events leading to the rig explosion and immediate aftermath, not the oil spill that followed. The Coast Guard says Transocean did not properly certify parts of the failed blowout preventer. And it says the crew could have diverted the spewing oil and gas away from the rig, which could have protected the vessel from fire. It also says the Marshall Islands, which flagged the Deepwater Horizon, handed oversight responsibility to private companies. BP's role in the disaster will be examined in the joint investigation's final report expected in July.
For WWNO, I'm Eileen Fleming.