Coast Guard Slams Transocean in Gulf Report

Shoddy equipment, poor safety training to blame in BP oil spill: probe
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 25, 2011 10:05 AM CDT
Coast Guard Slams Transocean in Report on BP Oil Spill in Gulf of Mexico
Work boats operate next to the Transocean Development Driller III at the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico Saturday, July 17, 2010.   (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

A wide array of Transocean safety failings were to blame in the Deepwater Horizon disaster last year, a Coast Guard report says. The official probe “revealed numerous systems deficiencies, and acts and omissions by Transocean and its Deepwater Horizon crew” that hampered “the ability to prevent or limit the magnitude of the disaster.” Among the faults: workers’ poor emergency training, badly maintained electrical equipment, and bypassed auto-shutdown systems, Reuters reports.

The “deficiencies,” which also include brushed-off safety inspections, point to “Transocean's failure to have an effective safety management system and instill a culture that emphasizes and ensures safety,” said the Coast Guard’s statement. The Coast Guard's final report is due July 27. (More Transocean stories.)

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