Panel probing oil rig explosion to start work

ROBERT, La. — A board investigating a deadly oil rig explosion that caused a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will begin its work next week. The six-member panel is split between representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Minerals Management Service. MMS spokesman John Callahan said a more detailed schedule will be released Friday. The board is tasked with investigating the cause of an April 20 explosion that killed 11 workers at an oil rig operated by BP PLC. BP is still trying to stop the leak spewing more than 200,000 gallons of oil a day. Authorities earlier said the investigative board will hear testimony from survivors of the explosion and technical experts. Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

'Daunting' oil spill threatens Florida - Florida Oil Spill Damage Lawyers

With an oil slick and tar balls just 50 miles offshore, Florida's top environmental official and other politicians say the state is bracing for pollution and damage to hit the state's beaches and its oyster, bait and sport fisheries. "It is an enormous mess. It is unbelievable -- the magnitude of this thing. Clearly every effort needs to be put on plugging the hole up and stopping the bleeding,'' Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said. Crist on Monday extended a state of emergency from the western Panhandle around the Big Bend as far south as Sarasota. The coastal counties added Franklin, Wakulla, Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie, Levy, Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee and Sarasota due to the Deepwater Horizon Incident. Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/03/1610698/daunting-oil-spill-threatens-florida.html#ixzz0mtWHXRKs

Lawyers flock to Gulf Coast for oil spill lawsuits

MIAMI — Teams of lawyers from around the nation are mobilizing for a gargantuan legal battle over the massive Gulf Coast oil spill, filing multiple lawsuits in recent days that together could dwarf the half-billion dollars awarded in the Exxon Valdez disaster two decades ago. If the oil slick fouls popular beaches, ruins fisheries and disrupts traffic on the Mississippi River, attorneys say there could be hundreds of thousands of plaintiffs from Texas to Florida seeking monetary damages from oil producer BP PLC and other companies that ran the Transocean Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. At least 26 federal lawsuits have been filed since the spill by commercial fishermen, charter boat captains, resort management companies and individual property owners in Louisiana, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. Many of the suits claim the disaster was caused when workers for oil services contractor Halliburton Inc. improperly capped a well — a process known as cementing. Halliburton denied that. Investigators are still looking into the cause.

Woman injured after boat accident at Disney

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- A woman was injured in a boating accident at Walt Disney World after her boat went under a Disney ferry. According to an Orange County Sheriff's report, 61-year-old Barbara Wormald was treated for a collapsed lung, fractured ribs and back pain after becoming wedged between the vessels. The report says Wormald and her husband rented a two seater boat Thursday near the Treehouse Villas. Ferry boat captain William Green said he saw the boat driving recklessly and put the ferry in reverse upon impact. Michael Wormald said he saw the ferry in the distance and thought it would move. As it approached, he turned quickly to avoid a crash, but the ferry ran onto the boat's passenger side and over his wife. Charges are pending against Wormald. Disney declined comment. Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/04/28/1602106/woman-injured-after-boat-accident.html#ixzz0mhPf5rV6

Coast Guard Continues Searching for Missing Workers in Oil Rig/Platform Explosion

At least four Mississippi men were among 11 workers missing after an oil rig explosion off the Louisiana coast. The Coast Guard continued its search by sea and air Thursday as anxious families huddled around telephones awaiting hourly updates from authorities. "We're all just sitting around waiting for the phone to ring and hoping for good news. And praying about it," said 23-year-old Andrea Cochran, whose father, Dewey Revette, was among the missing. Revette, a 48-year-old from Wayne County in southeast Mississippi, worked as a driller on the rig and has been with rig owner Transocean Ltd. for 29 years. Several people from Wayne County, near the Alabama line, were on the rig. Like much of Mississippi, Wayne County is a rural area with few high-paying jobs, so many of the men there head for the oil fields to support their families.

Potential for big spill after oil rig sinks

PORT FOURCHON, La. - The oil rig that exploded, caught fire and then sank 36 hours later could lead to a major oil spill, officials said Thursday, and as a result a remotely operated vehicle is surveying the seas and assets ranging from aircraft to containment booms are ready to be deployed. At a press conference, the officials also said hope was running out for 11 workers still missing after the blast Tuesday night off the coast of Louisiana. The Coast Guard said its search would probably continue for another 12 hours or so.

Cruise ship turns suddenly; 60 hurt

GALVESTON, Texas - A cruise ship operator says dozens of people were hurt when one of its vessels listed during a maneuver to avoid a partially submerged buoy that was adrift near Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Carnival Cruise Lines says the ship, Carnival Ecstasy, had to make a sharp turn to avoid the buoy Wednesday afternoon. Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer De La Cruz says 60 guests and one crew member suffered minor injuries and that some unsecured objects aboard the ship were damaged. She says no one required treatment at a hospital.

Workers Missing After Oil-Rig Explosion - 11 remain missing

Twelve people were missing and seven critically injured after an explosion and fire at an oil-drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. A Coast Guard rescue helicopter and crew document the fire aboard the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon, while searching for survivors. .The rig, about 41 miles off the Louisiana coast, is owned and operated by Transocean Ltd. and contracted to British oil major BP PLC. A spokesman for Transocean said most of the 126 people on board were safe. A Coast Guard spokeswoman said 12 were still missing but said reports indicated that all 126 people got off the rig. The rig was still burning and listing. Four Coast Guard helicopters and an airplane are being used in rescue operations and five Coast Guard cutters are also responding, the Coast Guard said. "We are still in a search and rescue operation," Transocean spokesman Greg Panagos said. Billy Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish, has said that the missing people were in a lifeboat that drifted away from the rig while rescue workers were helping others. __________________________________ 11 remain missing on Thrusday::: One lawsuit filed

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A lawsuit is claiming the companies involved in an oil platform explosion off the Louisiana coast were negligent. The lawsuit was filed in New Orleans on Thursday on behalf of a Mississippi man who worked on the rig and is one of 11 people still missing after the blast. The lawsuit says Shane Roshto, of Amite (Ah-mit) County, Miss., was thrown overboard in the Tuesday night explosion and is feared dead. The rig is owned by Transocean Ltd. and was under contract to oil giant BP. Both are defendants in the lawsuit. A Transocean spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment and BP wouldn't discuss the suit.

Miami Beach Man Cleared in Deadly Columbus Day Boating Accident

A Miami Beach boater has been cleared of criminal wrongdoing in the October 2006 Columbus Day Regatta party crash in Biscayne Bay that killed two college students. After an exhaustive investigation, prosecutors on Monday dropped a misdemeanor charge of violating navigational rules against Roland Desrochers, who skippered one of four boats involved in the fatal wreck. Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/30/1554312/miami-beach-man-cleared-in-deadly.html#ixzz0lZTaDqEr

Judge: Ethan Allen victims can sue NY

A state Court of Claims judge has rejected the state's immunity defense in the Ethan Allen capsizing, setting the stage for a trial later this year over whether state marine inspectors had any responsibility for the tour boat tragedy. No trial date has been set in the state case. Lawyers for the victims have argued that state inspectors did not do their job when inspecting the tour boat, which sank in Lake George on Oct. 2, 2005, leading to the drowning deaths of 20 passengers.

15-year-old weeps through his sentencing for fatal Spring Lake boating accident

The emotions poured out from four families affected by the Sept. 5 crash between a ski boat and personal watercraft as Ottawa County Family Court Judge Mark Feyen sentenced 15-year-old Jack McKeough to probation, community service and restitution. McKeough, driver of the 27-foot ski boat powered by twin 350-horsepower inboard engines, also must not operate a watercraft during his probation. The crash injured two passengers on the personal watercraft: Alexis Youngberg lost her left leg. Now 17, she uses a prosthetic; 23-year-old Kaitlin VanDam also had a severe injury that left a leg deformed. Feyen described the crash as an "unspeakable tragedy" before he sentenced McKeough to six months of probation, 75 hours of community service and nearly $10,000 in restitution for medical expenses.

Sometimes I read about boating accidents and think: This is the worst ever. This may not be the worst ever but it was plenty bad. What are the lessons that can be learned from this accident? I think some are obvious. What a tragic circumstance. Dwayne

Woman killed in boating accident on Santa Fe River/ Susie Cruce Brown

PERRY, Fla. -- A woman was killed in a boating accident on the Santa Fe River Sunday. She was killed near the Ellie Ray boat ramp. According to investigators with Florida Fish and Wildlife, Susie Cruce Brown, 49, was headed downstream on the Santa Fe. She was riding a 1996 Yamaha Waverider. She was with a group of three others also riding PWCs. They had launched from Sandy Point Marina. One of the other PWCs collided with Brown when she came to a sudden stop. Brown was thrown into the water. Her friends pulled her from the water and took her to a nearby dock in Branford. Other boaters attempted CPR. Brown was transported to Shands Lake Shore Hospital in Lake City, where she was pronounced dead. The FWC is investigating.

7-Year-Old Girl Killed In ATV Accident - Putnam County

This is not a maritime case but is local and involves safety on vehicles. Tragic loss of a little girl. Dwayne

INTERLACHEN, Fla. - The Florida Highway Patrol said a 7-year-old Interlachen girl riding on an all-terrain vehicle Sunday evening was killed when the driver braked to avoid hitting two dogs and the vehicle overturned.

Jurors find boat manufacturer partly liable

A federal jury Monday found a boat manufacturer partially liable for a 2005 incident on Lake Austin in which a teen's leg was severed by a propeller. Jurors ordered the company to pay $3.8 million in medical expenses and damages. After deliberating for about seven hours, jurors found that the Brunswick Corp. shared more than half of the blame for the accident that severely injured Jacob Brochtrup, who was then 18. Brunswick officials said in a statement after the verdict that they "stand behind our products, which are used safely and properly by boaters around the world." Jurors found that Brochtrup also was responsible, as was the driver of the boat.

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.