Transocean is Attempting to Limit Its Liability

Numerous questions were brought to the national spotlight following the Gulf of Mexico rig explosion that claimed the lives of eleven maritime workers and injured others. The incident occurred on April 20, 2010, on the oil rig Deepwater Horizon, which was leased by BP LLC and owned by Transocean, Ltd.

Many in the maritime law legal community wondered if Transocean would attempt to limit its liability in the oil rig explosion that has produced a catastrophic oil spill that now threatens the coasts of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. Under limitation of liability statutes, Transocean would possibly be able to limit the extent of their liability to the value of the drilling oil rig, Deepwater Horizon, which is consider next to nothing since it sank to the bottom of the ocean.

If Transocean is successful, this will create potential problems to those who were injured in the accident, as well as the families of the eleven offshore workers who are presumed dead and are trying to seek compensation from Transocean and BP.

According to reports today, Transocean is indeed working on limiting its liability. It is expected that the company will file a petition in court to limit its liability to approximately $27 million. The petition may be filed in the U.S. District Court in Houston as early as today.

We’ll keep you updated, as we receive more details.