Deepwater Horizon Joint Investigation Preliminary Report: USCG Jurisdiction

The Joint Investigation Team charged with examining the explosion on board the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon and resulting oil spill – comprised of representatives of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) and the U.S. Coast Guard – announced Friday that the Coast Guard members of the team have released their findings related to issues under Coast Guard jurisdiction.

The findings, which comprise Vol. I of the Joint Investigation Team Report, cover five aspects of the disaster – including the explosions on the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) Deepwater Horizon; the resulting fire; evacuations; the flooding and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon; and the safety systems of the MODU and its owner, Transocean. The findings released today do not include an analysis of what led to the loss of well control or other aspects of the investigation that fall under BOEMRE jurisdiction.

Volume I can be found online at http://marineinvestigations.us/ under the marine casualty reports section. It details 61 conclusions, 54 safety recommendations and nine administrative recommendations. It is not a final report; this volume comprises recommendations to the Commandant of the Coast Guard. A review and response to these recommendations will be completed in the coming months.

“This investigation seeks to prevent an accident similar to the Deepwater Horizon by identifying the factors that led to the tragedy and making recommendations to remove or minimize those factors in the future,” said Capt. David Fish, chief of the Coast Guard's Office of Investigations and Casualty Analysis. “While nothing can bring back the 11 people who perished in this disaster, there is much that should be learned for the future.”

The findings of the Coast Guard team members will be included as part of the final JIT investigative report, which is expected to be released no later than July 27, 2011.

Because of the continued investigation into the Deepwater Horizon’s blowout preventer and the reasons why it did not seal the Macondo well, including the new testimony gathered during recent hearings, the JIT has postponed issuance of Volume II of the JIT report relating to the well blowout and other issues under the jurisdiction of BOEMRE.