Contractors that provide offshore services such as rig suppliers, passenger vessels and maintenance vessels are now facing the risk of liability and accountability if offshore rules and regulations are violated, after a controversial policy has been passed this week.
The policy, approved by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), seeks to hold contractors, vessel operators and offshore companies accountable if they are found to have failed to uphold federal regulations regarding offshore activities, particularly oil drilling.
The policy was put into motion initially as a response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster that occurred in April 2010, and the results of the investigations into the incident. A presidential commission was deployed to look into the causes behind the tragedy, which was one of the most environmentally damaging in US history. The commission’s report discovered that the oil spill and resulting explosion were caused by poor communication between the different contractors involved in the Macondo well in the Gulf, owned by oil giant BP.
The policy focuses on non-compliance by contractors who refuse to abide by the guidelines set out in BSEE regulations. According to federal law, offshore contractors should provide appropriate vessels, equipment and crew members with adequate expertise to handle the complicated process of locating oil wells and extracting natural oil and gas from the ocean floor.
Both contractors and the companies that hire them have an obligation to comply with the regulations of the BSEE, however the enforcement of these regulations previously found only the companies liable for any violations. With the new policy, liability will also extend to the contractors.
The BSEE hopes that with the new policies, as well as stricter law enforcement and more serious consequences for those who violate safety regulations, the offshore region will become a safer place to work. The BSEE is committed to reassuring the global population that offshore drilling can be performed without causing loss of human life and devastating environmental effects, such as those caused by the Deepwater Horizon incident.
The institution of this new policy that holds contractors accountable for the vessels, equipment and crew that they provide to companies aims to make the offshore oil and gas drilling industry a safer one. Hundreds of crew members on board vessels are killed each year in offshore accidents, and therefore any law that hopes to improve safety and decrease fatalities should be approved by the maritime industry.
