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Large Sarge
10th June 2010, 02:34 PM
Witness statement says bosses knew Gulf oil rig disaster was 'gonna happen': report
POST WIRE SERVICES

Last Updated: 2:36 PM, June 8, 2010

Posted: 2:33 PM, June 8, 2010

Comments: 47
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Jaw-dropping evidence has surfaced that suggests BP's Deepwater Horizon's top managers knew of problems with the rig before it exploded last month -- a disaster at the heart of what has become the worst oil spill in American history, according to a new bombshell report.

Tony Buzbee, a Texas-based lawyer representing rig workers and fisherman, claims to have obtained a three-page statement from a crew member on the boat that rescued the burning rig's workers.

Buzbee told motherjones.com that the sailor, who he does not name, was on the ship's bridge when Deepwater Horizon installation manager Jimmy Harrell was speaking with someone in Houston on a satellite phone.


UPI
Fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon off the coast of New Orleans on April 21.
Buzbee said Harrell shouted, "Are you f--king happy? Are you f--ing happy? The rig's on fire! I told you this was gonna happen," according to motherjones.com.

Other rig workers have claimed that they were pressured by BP and their supervisors to cut corners.

Buzbee said his lawsuit will be his biggest ever.

"It's the grandaddy of all cases. This is going to define BP and whether BP survives," he said. "This is going to be the biggest case in the history of the United States, no doubt about it."

This comes as the cap placed over the broken wellhead at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico is collecting more gushing crude day by day -- but that’s about the extent of the details known as authorities try to pinpoint how much oil is escaping.

The cap on the stricken BP wellhead is helping to limit the leak, collecting more than 620,000 gallons of oil Monday, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said today in Washington.

Still, underwater video feeds continue to show a dark geyser.

“I have never said this is going well,” said Allen, who’s monitoring the response effort for the government. “We’re throwing everything at it that we’ve got. I’ve said time and time again that nothing good happens when oil is on the water.”

Authorities had earlier reported that the cap collected around 460,000 gallons Sunday and that it was capturing anywhere from a third to three-quarters of the oil spewing out after a damaged riser pipe was cut as part of the containment effort, increasing the flow as a side effect.

Meanwhile, a member of the Coast Guard team that’s trying to determine how much oil is still leaking said it’s possible that estimates the team will generate could be a bit higher than current government estimates.

The team member, University of Texas engineering professor Paul Bommer, said he understands why people might wonder why BP didn’t try the cap sooner, especially now that it appears to be doing its job.

“Hindsight is always 20/20,” Bommer said. “I think we have to give some credence to the notion they were trying to make things better without making things worse.”

With AP



Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/witness_statement_says_bosses_knew_5eWhDEKYV4BWpxt DfCpO0K#ixzz0qULAHY9a

gunDriller
11th June 2010, 06:07 AM
that is a very consistent theme among Deepwater Horizon rig workers - the reckless culture promoted by management.

i'm still not sure if this was "normal recklessness", or a new form of recklessness designed, for whatever reason, to create a huge disaster.

SLV^GLD
11th June 2010, 06:59 AM
Considering the number of currently operational rigs and the relatively low number of incidence, I'd say this was recklessness that went above and beyond the norm.