Gulf oil spill. Help me understand.

[lunarpollen]

The vessel that went down was a drill ship, not an oil platform that most people think of when they hear the term "oil rig". From what I've heard, any member of the crew had stop-work authority, so if anyone had noticed any kind of safety issue, risky shortcuts being taken, corner-cutting, etc., they had the power to cause all work to be stopped until concerns were addressed and proper conditions were met. Almost immediately after the incident, merchant mariners from all over the area flocked in to assist. BP flew in experts from all over the world within 24 hours to try and assess the situation and figure out ways to minimize the environmental impact. The scene at the bottom of the ocean there is not simple, there is a whole infrastructure of complicated equipment down there, not to mention the wreckage of the drilling ship itself. Sadly, the only people who knew what happened were probably the ones that lost their lives in the explosion. It's way too early for anyone to be able to identify the cause, whether it was equipment failure, sabotage, human error, some unforseeable event, etc. I can't imagine that the entire crew, from top to bottom, would conspire to cut corners and risk their lives and operate the vessel in an unsafe manner.

 

[aborgman]

I can't imagine that the entire crew, from top to bottom, would conspire to cut corners and risk their lives and operate the vessel in an unsafe manner.

Sadly, given BP's track record I can.

 

[Gard]

Having "stop-work" authority and USING it are two totally different things. If you believe for one instant that there was not constant pressure from both the company owning and operating the drill ship and from BP above them to KEEP GOING, you're living in la-la land, and your next door neighbor is a unicorn.

Exercising that "stop-work" authority would probably have eventually either cost the individual their job, or at least had them shipped off to the North Slope for their next assignment, and at a reduced pay grade.

Just because a company in this situation has a program in place does not mean that they encourage it's use. As a matter of fact, they most likely would have made it quite clear, but in language that could never be used against them in court, that using that program would be a BAD THING for anyone that didn't have a "VP" or higher after his name in the company letterhead.

I'm not anti-petroleum, despite what I may have typed. What I am is anti-petroleum-companies-getting-away-with-whatever-they-wish-to-make-as-much-of-a-profit-as-possible. They need to be held to the same safety standards that say...a bass guitar manufacturer...is. Sadly, your average bass guitar manufacturer doesn't have the necessary leverage ($$$$$$$) to affect public policy on workplace safety, so we actually have to play by rules.

 

[RWP]

^^^ Yep, the Challenger disaster comes to mind. ^^^

 

[Gard]

^^^ Yep, the Challenger disaster comes to mind. ^^^

Robert Boisjoly: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]



...I was sitting on the Indian River seawall in Titusville, FL, wrapped up like a burrito to stay warm that morning.

I still cry...

 

[SoComSurfing]

One thing that I see as not very promising is that BP has sourced almost an entire hotel here in downtown Mobile through May 15, and are working to extend it indefinitely. The hotel has already been asking guests to move to a sister hotel about 2 blocks away.

Weather and seas halted skimming operations at 1600 hrs on the 29th. I just got off the phone with the Coast Guard regarding another issue with one of my ships, and the duty Lt. told me conditions are not looking favorable to resume offshore work for another 24 hrs, at least.

At end of operations on the 29th, skimmer vessels had deployed 224,880 ft of boom and 139,459 gallons of dispersant had been dropped by air. The problem with the dispersant is that in high concentrations, it can cause lower water tables to go toxic, meaning fish kills. I boiled a few pounds of Jumbo Whites last night because that may be the last fresh shrimp to come out of this area for quite a while.

 

[RWP]

One thing that I see as not very promising is that BP has sourced almost an entire hotel here in downtown Mobile through May 15, and are working to extend it indefinitely. The hotel has already been asking guests to move to a sister hotel about 2 blocks away.

Weather and seas halted skimming operations at 1600 hrs on the 29th. I just got off the phone with the Coast Guard regarding another issue with one of my ships, and the duty Lt. told me conditions are not looking favorable to resume offshore work for another 24 hrs, at least.

At end of operations on the 29th, skimmer vessels had deployed 224,880 ft of boom and 139,459 gallons of dispersant had been dropped by air. The problem with the dispersant is that in high concentrations, it can cause lower water tables to go toxic, meaning fish kills. I boiled a few pounds of Jumbo Whites last night because that may be the last fresh shrimp to come out of this area for quite a while.

That is really sad. I sure hope they can contain the leak soon.

 

[NOLA Bass]

Just got back from Jazz Fest and sadly, the news is not getting better. I fear we are weeks from the flow of oil being cut off. The fact that our coastline is not a traditional one but marshland with thousands of inlets, I don't know how they'll ever get it cleaned up properly.

 

[Gard]

Just got back from Jazz Fest and sadly, the news is not getting better. I fear we are weeks from the flow of oil being cut off. The fact that our coastline is not a traditional one but marshland with thousands of inlets, I don't know how they'll ever get it cleaned up properly.

Exactly. Most people that haven't been there can't really picture the Louisiana coastline. Imagine a sponge the size of a state. Yeah, that's what it is.

The fallout from this disaster will last until well after our grandchildren have grandchildren. There is no "cleaning up" after this, there is just mitigating the damage. The salt marshes were already under dire threat (primarily because of the oil industry, by the way!), and now they are almost certain to be under even more pressure.

Oil seeping into the environment there will cause even greater die-offs of the marsh grasses, which will have a cascade effect on things - less grass = less marshland; less marshland = less area for fish & shellfish to spawn and grow to adulthood = damaged or even destroyed fisheries industry (you think those shrimp at the grocery store are expensive now?); also: less marshland = less protection for New Orleans and the surrounding areas in the event of a hurricane coming from the south.

Then there is the direct effect on fisheries from the oil itself and from the dispersants that Adron mentions above.

THEN there is the fact that as the slick spreads (you don't really think they can contain this do you?), it will begin to reach the beaches in Mississippi....then Alabama....then Florida....and the tourist industries that support the economies of those coastlines will collapse, because no one wants to go to a beach that stinks of crude oil and is covered with dead fish & sea birds.

I hope I'm wrong, I hope I'm Chicken Little crying "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!!!" about all this, but I don't think so....sadly....

The economic cost this will have on the entire Gulf Coast area is beyond comprehension.

 

[NOLA Bass]

Now there are reports that if this leak continues, currents could take the slick down past the keys and up the Eastern Seaboard.

Gard, you are so right on the coastline. People think beach, but cleaning this up will be very different than the rocky coastline in Alaska. I honestly don't think it can be done.

 

[Gard]

Now there are reports that if this leak continues, currents could take the slick down past the keys and up the Eastern Seaboard.

Yeah, I was kinda wondering about that...if it continues, the "gyre" current of the Gulf is west to east (IIRC), so the slick will drift east, go to the Florida panhandle, then down the west coast of Florida, if it gets to the Keys and into the Straits of Florida, it's in the Gulf Stream, and a relatively "local" environmental disaster becomes a "damn near half the world" one. Yes, it will dissipate a bit, but still, the idea of that much crude oil managing to enter the Gulf Stream, which will eventually deposit the oil on Ireland's shores ( ) should be tweeking a lot of people out...there are a lot of beaches and other coastline along the way, and a whole lot of fisheries (Grand Banks, anyone?)...



...I really hope they figure it out before that happens.

Gard, you are so right on the coastline. People think beach, but cleaning this up will be very different than the rocky coastline in Alaska. I honestly don't think it can be done.

Food for thought: They're STILL cleaning up in Alaska from the Exxon Valdez spill.

That's an "easy" coastline to work with, compared to southern Louisiana. I really don't think the majority of people have even the remotest clue as to just how bad this has the potential to be.

 

[MakiSupaStar]

Ugh. This just sucks.

 

[RWP]

Maybe my idea about having a valve that worked wasn't such a bad idea after all.

 

[SoComSurfing]

Yeah, I was kinda wondering about that...if it continues, the "gyre" current of the Gulf is west to east (IIRC), so the slick will drift east, go to the Florida panhandle, then down the west coast of Florida, if it gets to the Keys and into the Straits of Florida, it's in the Gulf Stream, and a relatively "local" environmental disaster becomes a "damn near half the world" one. Yes, it will dissipate a bit, but still, the idea of that much crude oil managing to enter the Gulf Stream, which will eventually deposit the oil on Ireland's shores ( ) should be tweeking a lot of people out...there are a lot of beaches and other coastline along the way, and a whole lot of fisheries (Grand Banks, anyone?)...



...I really hope they figure it out before that happens.



Food for thought: They're STILL cleaning up in Alaska from the Exxon Valdez spill.

That's an "easy" coastline to work with, compared to southern Louisiana. I really don't think the majority of people have even the remotest clue as to just how bad this has the potential to be.

The Gulf flows counter-clockwise. Natural currents would push things towards TX and the MS River. So far Southwest Pass, the shipping channel allowing deep-water access to the River, isn't expected to see any sheen on the water until about Tuesday.

I don't know if there is even a plan on how to start cleaning any of the wetlands. The Chandeleurs, arguably the best inshore fishing spot in the nation, are already starting to see landfall on the outer islands.

 

[Vorago]

This is so sad

And probably, as usual, the big guys who are responsible for this will get away with it, while the little man in the street is paying the price.

I'm wondering if BP will pay for all this, or if they will weasel their way out of this (via endless lawsuits, etc etc).

 

[RWP]

This is so sad

And probably, as usual, the big guys who are responsible for this will get away with it, while the little man in the street is paying the price.

I'm wondering if BP will pay for all this, or if they will weasel their way out of this (via endless lawsuits, etc etc).

How can BP pay for the loss of millions of fish, millions of acres of wetlands, soiled beached, jobs.... on and on. The cost is incalculable. It never should have happened in the first place.

 

[ryco]

A couple of interesting videos from Mike Papantonio:

 

[Muusers]

Another reason to stop driving those insane big cars and switch to more eco friendly cars. Not talking about hybrids though, they are even worse for fuel consumption. Why? Because making a hybrid costs more oil than a normal car will ever use in its lifetime.

 

[bassrique]

This is heading to the site tomorrow to "hot stab" the leak.

 

[NOLA Bass]

A couple of interesting videos from Mike Papantonio:

Wow, that second one has me looking for additional information.