Coast Guard Puts Transocean On Notice

The U.S. Coast Guard has issued a Notice of Federal Intent to Transocean,owner of the abandoned Deepwater Horizon oil rig,which now sits on the ocean floor near BP's capped Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico.The notice informs a party it may be liable for cleanup costs and damages under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.The Coast Guard recently spotted a number of sheens on the ocean's surface near the site of the crippled rig and well,which caused a catastrophic oil spill in April 2010.
Captain Johnathan Burton,commanding officer of Marine Safety Unit Morgan City,said the notice is part of the Coast Guard's process whenever there is an oil sighting that cannot be immediately attributed to a specific source.The Coast Guard said the oil sheens may be leaking from a severed pipe that once connected the rig to the well.This riser pipe now lies twisted on the ocean floor.
Both Transocean and BP said they will cooperate with the Coast Guard's investigation of the sheens,but pointed fingers at each other as the potentially liable party.In late August,a BP submarine survey of the area showed no leakage from the Macondo well itself.The well was capped on 15 July,2010 and permanently sealed on 19 September of that year.
Enforcing environmental laws and responding to oil spills are some of the Coast Guard's core missions.It played a key role in assessing,investigating and mitigating the Macondo well spill.