Following the suspension of US Coast Guard search-and-rescue efforts to find 11 missing persons in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Steven L. Newman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Transocean, on the ground in New Orleans, expressed his deepest sympathies on behalf of the company to the family members of those lost. The nine Transocean personnel and two employees of a third-party company have been missing since the fire and explosion ripped through the rig.
“As the nation and everyone in the Transocean family mourns the tragic loss of these people, our deepest sympathies are with their families and friends today,” said Newman. “Transocean is doing everything we can to meet their needs during this difficult time, and our family response team members are in close contact to provide all necessary support. I would once again like to express our gratitude to the U.S. Coast Guard, BP and everyone involved for their exhaustive search and rescue efforts, despite this very sad outcome.”
Transocean provided an update regarding the fire and explosion onboard its semisubmersible drilling rig Deepwater Horizon on Friday. The company released a statement confirming reports that the rig sank late in the morning on the 23rd April. The combined response team was not able to stem the flow of hydrocarbons prior to the rig sinking, and the company has been working closely with BP Exploration & Production and the US Coast Guard to determine the impact from the sinking of the rig and the plans going forward. The US Coast Guard has plans in place to mitigate any environmental impact from this situation.
The original incident occurred April 20, 2010 at approximately 10:00 p.m. Central Time in the United States Gulf of Mexico. The rig was located approximately 41 miles offshore Louisiana on Mississippi Canyon block 252.
The cause of the fire and explosion is unknown at this time. An investigation into the cause of the incident and assessment of the damage will be ongoing in the days or weeks to come.
