Owner of sunken oil rig defends Transocean's safety record

The chief executive of Transocean Ltd., whose drilling rig exploded last month in the Gulf of Mexico and triggered the largest oil spill in North American history, on Thursday defended the company's safety policies. Steven Newman, Transocean's president and chief executive, told industry analysts during a conference call on the company's quarterly earnings that it would be "premature'' and "inappropriate'' to speculate on what caused the April 20 blast that sank the $600 million rig and left 11 crew members missing and presumed dead. Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/06/1616780/owner-of-sunken-oil-rig-defends.html#ixzz0nBOQGarf

As Drilling Increases, Maritime Accidents Will Inevitably Rise

April 01, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- As Drilling Increases, Maritime Accidents Will Inevitably Rise. Increased crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has sparked hope that the recession will soon end. As the nation returns to economic health, shipping lanes, ports and the gulf oil and gas production and drilling industry will get busier with goods moving in and out. That is good news for the area and the rest of the country. The bad news, however, is that worker injuries on the often-dangerous oil rigs, drill ships, supply and crew boats, and inland vessels such as tugboats and towboats, typically rise as production increases.