The U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed that a mobile offshore drilling unit has suffered a fire in it’s engine room today. A gCaptain source indicates it was an ENSCO rig.
The fire has been suppressed via installed FiFi equipment.
Anyone have further details? I’ve reached out to ENSCO but they aren’t answering their phones.
Rob
rob@gcaptain.com
954.850.4611
Contacted BSEE, they hadn’t heard the news yet.
USCG confirms it was the Ensco 8502.
From the USCG:
Rig is stable, there will be no evacuation, it is presently anchored to the sea floor with the BOPs closed.
I thought I was hearing things on the radio again… Only words I heard were “engine room fire on 8502” around lunch or mid morning
I received incorrect info from the USCG… the rig is not anchored, but rather being held in place by tugs at the moment Three of its main engines were seriously damaged from the fire according to a source close to the incident… Looks like she’s going to need to be replaced by another rig.
I have to ask, what is the deal with GoM and all the accidents of late?
Rob, was the 8502 latched up at the time of the incident? Are they/were they working?
Rob, was the 8502 latched up at the time of the incident? EDS? Loss of station keeping? Are they/were they working at the time?
Yes, and they closed their BOPs when it happened, no EDS. They just started working after 40+ days of downtime too… painful stuff for ENSCO.