Report blasts Transocean over Deepwater Horizon disaster [USA]
Federal investigators on Friday blasted Transocean, owner of the Deepwater Horizon, for poor maintenance of the doomed drilling rig, inadequate training of workers and safety lapses that may have contributed to the deadly Gulf disaster a year ago. The company’s “numerous systems deficiencies” and “omissions” ranged from bypassing gas alarms and automatic shutdown systems that could have prevented an explosion to failing to conduct enough emergency drills. “These deficiencies indicate that Transocean’s failure to have an effective safety management system and instill a culture that emphasizes and ensures safety contributed to this disaster,” a joint Coast Guard-Interior Department panel said in a preliminary investigation report on the Deepwater Horizon accident...Transocean said in a statement that it “strongly disagrees” with the findings, noting the Deepwater Horizon was compliant with U.S. and international standards at the time of the accident.