[QUOTE=Jones the Fish;37001]That is such an important statement. I expect that if nothing else is learned from this incident, we are going many, many years down the road before this lesson is lost.
I have a real problem with the concept that the head drilling guy becomes responsible when the rig is drilling, but the head maritime guy is responsible when the rig is moving. This is so obviously BS that you wonder where to start…
There needs to be a head maritime guy with the authority and gonads to pull the plug at any time. All the rest is time and money, and we can fix those. SOLAS!!![/QUOTE]
I agree with you about having one person AND ONE PERSON ONLY in charge. I’ve worked in the marine dept. of semi-subs most of my career and once I earned my OIM license I knew that I did not want to “use” that license. I was no more qualified to “control” drilling operations because I studied just enough to pass the drilling portion of the USCG OIM license exam than a drilling person was qualified to “control” the marine operation just because he had gone to the school that taught him the answers to the USCG OIM license exam. I’ve been fortunate to have worked TOGETHER with the head drilling guy with mutual respect for each others knowledge but we both knew where the shit was going to land if an incident occured which got the attentiion of the USCG. What really scares me is the F.O.I. (floating offshore installation) that is producing oil & gas here in the GoM with persons in charge who really know production but might be a little light in both the marine and the drilling discipline.