When BP CEO Tony Hayward left the Gulf oil spill disaster last week to captain his yacht, Bob, in the JP Morgan Chase Asset Management Round the Island race off the coast of England, it was seen as emblematic of the corporate leader's poor handling of the disaster.
Hayward may have sailed on a windward tack that day in the Round the Island race, but it has been his company, and others involved in this disaster, who have used wayward tactics. In fact islands, both real and self-constructed, are central to their ability to dodge regulations.
As was reported in the New York Times this week, BP has dumped a large pile of gravel 3 miles off the shore of Alaska in the Beaufort Sea with the intent of drilling for oil 2 miles deep and as much as 8 miles farther offshore. Yet by creating this "fantasy island" miles out from shore, BP was still able to certify this drilling as happening "onshore."
This island, and the project, is called Liberty. Whether the project is named for a liberation from regulation, or from the constraints of geographical definitions, is a question for BP.
And this isn't the only "island getaway." While no man is an island, the oil companies apparently think that islands are a no man's land for regulation.
Before the Deepwater Horizon rig took a fateful trip to the bottom of the ocean, after an explosion killed 11 men and triggered the greatest environmental disaster in U.S. history, it first cruised past American inspectors.
The rig, which is owned by Transocean, was registered in the Marshall Islands, located about 2,000 miles southwest of Hawaii.
Under Marshall Island law, rig owners are allowed to authorize private organizations to inspect their vessels. Transocean hired the Norwegian contractor Det Norske Veritas (DNV) to conduct inspections of the Deepwater Horizon rig.
At a Minerals Management Service and Coast Guard joint investigative hearing in Louisiana this May, an employee of DNV testified that his company discovered cases of overdue maintenance on equipment on Deepwater Horizon, and that some crewmembers had not been properly trained.
However, these issues didn't reach the level of "nonconformity" and therefore didn't stop the rig's recertification.
These "island vacations" from regulation are the exact reason Congress is investigating BP and the president has called for a temporary pause on new deepwater offshore drilling in the Gulf. The reality is that 97 percent of offshore drilling in the Gulf will continue through this timeout, giving the government time to ensure that the 33 exploration rigs that work in deep water will not endanger the region any further.
This safety pause isn't about ending offshore drilling, it is about ending the oil industry's practice of offshoring the safety of rigs by using various "island getaways" from regulation.
Follow Rep. Ed Markey on Twitter: www.twitter.com/markeymemo
Ex-NASA Inspector Accused of Fraud
http://articles.latimes.com/2004/oct/06/nation/na-nasa6
there is after all a limited number of rigs for off shore drilling, and if they end up pumping crude for other countries like brazil, or whomever,
how long until the united states can get those rigs back, and what does that mean for the US Oil supply in terms of its relation to oil independence?
Yet you intentionally omit the hundreds of safety violations on rigs, including (but not limited to) the emergency plans, missed inspections, strong evidence that BP 'independent testers' have fudged or faked rig tests, numerous failures to file current engineering plans on each rig, numberous failures to have effective emergency shut down programs for rigs, and finally avoided the statements of qualified BP employees who are stating the Atlantis rig may be a bigger disaster waiting to happen.
Moreover, both parties in your Congress just 'punished' the oil industry by quietly RENEWING $35 billion in tax breaks and issuing 400 new leases.
Republicans (2007, 22% of registered voters, 10yr trend losing voters) need to pick up votes elsewhere. Disillusioned Democrats (33% and the same ten year trend) may vote Republican if there's no other choice. Independent Progressives (39%) are the only uniformly voting political block in the US and growing steadily. Independents have no affiliated corporately-controlled party, but are now the political kingmakers. This post won't get our protest votes - as far as we're concerned, the party's truly over.
DOES ANYONE SMELL THE OFFENSIVE ODOR OF DISINNGENUOUSNESS AND VOTER MANIPULATION FROM MARKEY AND THIS ARTICLE? It's making my eyes water.
BP would not provide them a helicopter, so DNV had to call their own, as they were in a hurry to get off the rig. They obviously knew it was probably going to blow.
You're not talking about it, Markey, and the American people aren't hearing it in the MSM.
WHY?
The risk is simply too high for most people to stay. If a hurricane comes into the area of New Orleans this year, then there will be a panic style scramble to leave. I am asking that residents make arrangements to leave now, to avoid being trapped in a hurricane zone with millions of gallons of oil ready to wash up on shore.
Beaches made of tar is the result of the BP " clean-up " efforts. They will squirm out of any agreement to really clean up. Their burning of skimmed oil has resulted in a gulf heat bubble approximately above or around the oil spill. This is a sure target for a hurricane. The critical time to evacuate safely is now. ( Blaqfather - 6 / 27 / 2010 )
All references have been DE-Linked for accuracy. Just drag and drop them into a search window or type them in manually. All of these references begin with ( http://www. )
Reference :
maineharbors.com/weather/seatemp4.htm
delmarvanow.com/article/20100615/OPI02/6150365
prweb.com/releases/Infinite_Monster/Hurricane_Recovery/prweb4140374.htm
atmoreadvance.com/2010/06/14/experts-predict-active-hurricane-season/
On a serious note, isn't the Army Corps of Engineers the permitting agency for any activity in navigable waterways. How are permits issued for a gravel artificial island. Doesn't anybody question why an oil company would be doing this? Something seems fishy off the Alaskan coast. Where is Sista Sarah protecting her turf? ha ha.
All of this breaks the social contract within nations. No wonder nobody cares. First, there's nothing they can do after Raygun and Thatcher - there is no other way. Second, everyone is being paid off or regulation is "captured."
The multinational corporations are loyal to nobody. Profits are privatized and costs socialized. A little bit is left over for bribes (lobbyists and campaign contributions).
It is always an excuse that the City of London does it. I am so sick of that BS.
I fear it has burnt its way through our values,our very souls,and as I wrote in an earlier post we as a nation have become,"POTTERSVILLE',the town in the movie,It's a Wonderful Life .
As to the Recognized Organizations that the Marshall Islands allows to condust inspections of MODUs, it should be noted that the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Det Norske Veritas are renowned for their expertise in the offshore industry. It should be noted that the US Coast Guard also allows ABS to conduct inspections on its behalf under its Alternative Inspection Program.