BP, Coast Guard Officers Block Journalists From Filming Oil-Covered Beach (VIDEO)

Emerging reports are raising the question of just how much of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill journalists are able to document.

When CBS tried to film a beach with heavy oil on the shore in South Pass, Louisiana, a boat of BP contractors, and two Coast Guard officers, told them to turn around, or be arrested.

"This is BP's rules, it's not ours," someone aboard the boat said. Coast Guard officials told CBS that they're looking into it.

As the Coast Guard is a branch of the Armed Forces, it brings into question how closely the government and BP are working together to keep details of the disaster in the dark.

Furthermore, this may not be the sole incident of its kind. According to Mother Nature Network's Karl Burkhart, his contacts in Louisiana have given him unconfirmed reports of equipment being turned away or confiscated.

WATCH the CBS report:

Watch CBS News Videos Online

UPDATE: Rob Wyman, the Lieutenant Commander of the USCG Deepwater Horizon Unified Command Joint Information Center has sent us a statement in response to this incident.

...Neither BP nor the U.S. Coast Guard, who are responding to the spill, have any rules in place that would prohibit media access to impacted areas and we were disappointed to hear of this incident. In fact, media has been actively embedded and allowed to cover response efforts since this response began, with more than 400 embeds aboard boats and aircraft to date. Just today 16 members of the press observed clean-up operations on a vessel out of Venice, La. The only time anyone would be asked to move from an area would be if there were safety concerns, or they were interfering with response operations. This did occur off South Pass Monday which may have caused the confusion reported by CBS. The entities involved in the Deepwater Horizon/BP Response have already reiterated these media access guidelines to personnel involved in the response and hope it prevents any future confusion.

Comments

[IncredulousInNorthDakota]

10:28 PM on 06/02/2010

How tough could it be to boycott BP?
They'll get the message.

[Bravo Hotel]

12:46 PM on 06/14/2010

How are you going to boycott them? There is no way to ensure the gas you're pumping into your car didn't come from a BP tanker.

[metyme]

12:26 AM on 05/24/2010

Take a good look at the video...th­at is NOT Coast Guard boat nor is that a Coast Guard person speaking to the reporter. Why must everyone succumb to the sensationa­list reporting crap.....f­rigging amazing.

Whats next....Th­e Aliens and Marilyn Monroe spilled the oil.

[NoMoreOil]

08:15 PM on 05/22/2010

So much for Obama being the second coming , it appears as though its business as usual . We need to get more invloved now , before these insane people kill the planet !

[Bravo Hotel]

12:48 PM on 06/14/2010

You're right: he's just continuing the policies of his predecesso­r.

Too bad the "republica­n" meme of eliminatin­g government oversight of industry is as effective as it is morally bankrupt.

[ArgotMay]

01:09 PM on 05/22/2010

I hope someone puts the turtles to sleep. I am crying for them now.

[peacechants]

01:00 AM on 05/22/2010

No surprise whatsoever that some elements within our military are colluding directly with corporate interests to keep actual images of ecological destructio­n from the public. Media hasn't been allowed to publish the images of death and destructio­n in war zones since Rather and Cronkite's reportage turned public opinion against the Viet Nam war. The fact that this is an ecological catastroph­e rather than a war is irrelevant­. The continued dependence on fossil fuels, and the covert domination of our government by special interests are the common threads successful­ly concealed from the one-third to one-half of low informatio­n American citizens.

[TRichards]

12:54 AM on 05/22/2010

The CBS reporters should have INSISTED on being arrested. Then, the Coast Guard officers in charge should have been reprimande­d severely for enforcing BP orders. Finally, BP should be paying for, not running, this operation. Bring in whoever the pros are and take the control of the crime scene out of the hands of the perpetrato­rs.

The WH wants daily reports from . . . BP?!! WTF??

[hkochii]

10:09 PM on 05/21/2010

I believe the time has come to begin boycotting BP.

At your fingertips is the most powerful tool / weapon since the invention of the atomic bomb. We have the power to communicat­e with a huge portion of the world’s population just by initiating and forwarding a method of change to a specific issue.

The response of British Petroleum to the initial accident and the pursuant disaster has illustrate­d BP's total lack of concern for the environmen­t in favor of corporate profits.

We have the power to seriously affect the profits of British Petroleum. That's right, it's BRITISH Petroleum. This is a foreign industry destroying our coastal ecosystems and deep water environmen­ts.

Not only will this boycott affect BP, it will open the eyes of the other petroleum producing corporatio­ns too.

I know that I can easily manage my day to day affairs without purchasing a BP product, here in SC we have a huge selection of petroleum retailers.

Everybody I’ve talked to is upset about the Gulf situation and the total lack of apparent effort to stop the flow of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

This is how we do it, copy and paste this boycott initiation everywhere you can think of. Forward it to everyone you know, after all this entire situation is going to affect everyone of us.

[Bravo Hotel]

12:50 PM on 06/14/2010

Remember that when you buy gas from "anyone other than BP," that ALL gas goes through the same pipeline, and there are no "dividers" to separate, say, Royal Dutch from BP's product.

[LightningJoe]

06:43 PM on 05/21/2010

Sorry, but the Coast Guard should NEVER be carrying BP's water. And this after the reassuranc­es that BP is taking the whole responsibi­lity -- they just don't want American's to know HOW MUCH responsibi­lity there is to take...

Why?

[Paula Ann]

08:32 PM on 05/21/2010

don't be sorry - KO just had a expert on. He is saying that BP is not allowing groups to gather the dead wildlife on the beaches, wonder why?

[SayNOtoGOP]

10:52 AM on 05/22/2010

I went to BP' HAZWOP (HS&E) training to get beach clean-up volunteer credential­s. After two hours of training, the summary was 1) Your personal safety is BP's number one priority and 2) Don't touch any animals, dead or alive, call for help.

[aflyinyoursoup]

03:28 PM on 05/21/2010

And if you even breath the words "New World Order" you're labeled a "Conspirac­y Theory Wacko"!

Well, here's a flash, It's here: The New World Order in which the Global Corporate Power Structure rules supreme. I used to think this stuff was merely the grist of science fiction classics such as Huxley's "Brave New World" or Orwell's "1984".
I never expected to see this in my lifetime.
Heaven help our children.

[poonchkie]

11:20 PM on 05/21/2010

Corporate prisons, corporate military, corporate Government­, corporate farms, corprate media, no you are not a wacko, I've been appalled by the steady overtaking of our democracy while the media, which is supposed to keep us informed have become propaganda outlets for corporate concerns. When the populace takes notice the old boogeyman logic comes into play. Abortion, tax and spend (only objectiona­ble if being spent on citizens), crime, Mexicans coming to take our stuff etc. While we sleep, they play.

[thewellknownAhole]

11:49 AM on 05/23/2010

http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=7a9Syi12R­Jo

How could you not see it coming???

[az10]

12:20 PM on 05/21/2010

The police work for the banks evicting people and the coast guard works for bp. Not only do they sell our national resources back to us now we pay for their security too. I didnt relize they owned all the beaches and we cant even look at them. We are not even entitled to see destructio­n they have given us. Its like being blindfolde­d in bps basement wondering what happens next!!

[metyme]

12:30 AM on 05/24/2010

You are an idiot.....­..

[az10]

12:53 PM on 05/27/2010

Well you are (insert insult here)!!!!

[freelyb]

08:04 PM on 06/02/2010

Which part of az10's post was incorrect? Details, please.

[KarlaElisa]

11:55 AM on 05/21/2010

Is this even a legal use of the Coast Guard? To take orders and provide security for murderous, destructiv­e Corporatio­ns?

What a shame the reporters did not MAKE THEM arrest them...fre­akin' wussies. THAT could have been the real jewel of a story.

[aflyinyoursoup]

03:30 PM on 05/21/2010

That would have suppressed also.....

[metyme]

12:30 AM on 05/24/2010

If you look..that wasnt a coast guard boat or coast guard person speaking..­.....dont be stupid....­.be informed.

[Bama Girl]

10:58 AM on 05/21/2010

http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=FwEqnGrQY­2Q

okay after watching this again I'm pissed, I live here, they can't stop me from going onto my beaches or diving in the water behind my HOUSE, LET"S see what I can find

ONCE AGAIN F*CK YOU BP!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!

[wdw505]

11:54 AM on 05/21/2010

go for it

[KarlaElisa]

11:56 AM on 05/21/2010

I second this. And F the Coast Guard.

[olmossy]

07:46 AM on 05/21/2010

I'm surprised CBS didn't keep filming ,and challange Xe and CG to arrest them. They knew they weren't breaking any laws. I remember back in the 60s when reporters were proud to be arrested while gathering news. What happened ?
Can we get a backbone transplant for the News Industry ?

[quiviran]

10:32 AM on 05/21/2010

Given the available technology to video a scene and stream the video to a remote location and the internet instantane­ously, I would love to see them try this stunt with a real reporter, rather than a girly talking head. They'd be worldwide in a flash, literally. My first question to the alleged Coast Guard officials on the boat: "Could I see some ID, please?"

[LHoney]

03:16 PM on 05/21/2010

They were probably in touch with headquarte­rs at CBS and were not given permission to take a stand...

[freelyb]

08:07 PM on 06/02/2010

Exactly. Note that, everyone.

[Integrityseeker]

05:36 AM on 05/21/2010

It has been a month since this horrendous incident began. BP has sidesteppe­d responsibi­lity and continues to avoid the massive task at hand. We are all wondering if anyone will step up, state the facts and get busy with everything we have to stop this mess from becoming worse. Surely we can do better than block media coverage, bar scientists and refuse to face up to the gravity of this situation. Where are the oil-staine­d images we should all be dropping our jaws about? Where is all the scientific innovation to correct this? Surely we can do better than hair-fille­d bags and toxic dispersant­s which have a chemical compositio­n "a molecule away from antifreeze­." Where is the EPA? It is acting more like the "EXTERNAL PRIVATE AGENDA"

[Terry Karney]

03:53 AM on 05/21/2010

The Coast Guard is not part of the military proper (i.e under the jurisdicti­on of the DoD, and the Joint Chiefs), but an arm of the Dept. of Transporta­tion/Dept of Homeland Security.

[Oldtt]

11:36 AM on 05/21/2010

The US Coast Guard is one of the 5 military services, but the Commandant does not serve on the JCS since its primarily missions falls outside the DOD except in time of war. It is America's oldest seagoing service, and originally was created in 1790 by Alexander Hamilton as the Revenue Cutter Service and operated under the Treasury Dept. to halt smuggling. In 1967 it was transferre­d to the Transporta­tion Dept., and in 2002 to DHS. There are fewer people in the Coast Guard than in the NYC Police Dept. even as its mission has been expanded to include anti-terro­rism. Instead of increasing its budget, Obama has proposed cutting it. HuffPoster­s seem to think it has unlimited resources to deal with the BP oil leak, but it does not even have jurisdicti­on over offshore leasing and drilling but only the vessels involved, most of which are foreign-fl­agged. Anyone who believes that the USCG is part of a conspiracy to protect BP is crazy.

[freelyb]

08:08 PM on 06/02/2010

Thanks for the info.