Did Transocean foreign flag away safety on Deepwater Horizon?

By flagging the Deepwater Horizon platform under Marshall Islands registry, Transocean may have placed an oil drilling expert—instead of a licensed sea captain—in charge of the safety of nearly 130 lives.

"You had the guy who does the drilling plans able to make the call on safety," said John Konrad, a master mariner consulting with the rig’s survivors.

According to experts, such a chain of command would never have been allowed if the platform were U.S. flagged. Foreign flag registries such as Marshall Islands, Panama and Liberia are widely criticized for allowing minimal safety standards. Some of the workers who survived the April 20 explosion say that the foreign registry allowed understaffing and a complex chain of command that may have led to the deaths of 11 workers and injuries to 17 others.

In a Coast Guard and MMS hearing last month, Douglas H. Brown, chief mechanic on the platform, spoke of a “skirmish” in an 11:00 a.m. meeting between representatives of Transocean and BP on April 20. The argument centered over the decision by BP’s representative to remove drilling mud and replace it with seawater before temporarily sealing up the well.

Brown said Transocean’s crew leaders disagreed with the procedure but were overruled by the BP rep, who, according to Brown, said, “This is how it’s gonna be.” The BP rep reportedly had very limited deepwater experience and was said to be learning on the job.

Offshore drilling platforms are regarded as ships under international law. On a ship, the captain is in charge, period. Yet, why is a drilling man super ceding the authority of a licensed master?

Source: L.A. Times