Alarms Were Disabled on Doomed Oil Rig
A chief engineer has testified to a federal panel investigating the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon that, despite his repeated admonishments, alarms and other safety systems aboard the offshore oil rig had been left disabled or unrepaired in the months leading up to the catastrophic April 20 blast.
A chief engineer has testified to a federal panel investigating the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon that, despite his repeated admonishments, alarms and other safety systems aboard the offshore oil rig had been left disabled or unrepaired in the months leading up to the catastrophic April 20 blast.
Wait, before you go…Los Angeles Times:
Critical fire and gas leak alarm systems had been disabled for at least a year aboard the Deepwater Horizon because the rig’s leaders didn’t want to wake up to false alarms, a rig chief engineer tech told federal investigators.
“I discovered it was ‘inhibited’ about a year ago,” said Mike Williams, the chief engineer tech who worked for rig owner Transocean aboard the Deepwater Horizon, which erupted in flames April 20, killing 11 men and starting the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.
“I inquired,” Williams told an investigative panel from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Interior Department in suburban New Orleans. “The explanation I got was that from the [offshore installation manager] down, they did not want people to wake up at 3 a.m. due to false alarm,” Williams said. Williams later said the rig’s captain had also agreed that the alarms were to be disabled.
If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.
Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.
Support Truthdig
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.