[QUOTE=offshoremackem;32615]If you have never worked for them then you are in no position to comment on how employees are treated, as for who signs my paycheck, I work for the highest bidder. Hearsay from people like you do more damage than it helps. I believe TO have 20,000 employees and I don’t hear complaints from them.
Again get your facts right before criticising.[/QUOTE]
Just felt compelled to pipe in here. I work on different rigs for all different companies & I have heard lots of complaints re Transocean, from their folks and others. Having said that, they are the same complaints I hear from personnel on just about every rig owned by just about every company. Drilling companies are drilling companies, but at least TOI does have some REALLY nice equipment & from what I have seen, they don’t treat their people any worse than the others & in many ways, they seem to be a bit above the curve.
[QUOTE=Corky;32694]Just felt compelled to pipe in here. I work on different rigs for all different companies & I have heard lots of complaints re Transocean, from their folks and others. Having said that, they are the same complaints I hear from personnel on just about every rig owned by just about every company. Drilling companies are drilling companies, but at least TOI does have some REALLY nice equipment & from what I have seen, they don’t treat their people any worse than the others & in many ways, they seem to be a bit above the curve.
Just my observations.[/QUOTE]
I also am on many rigs and I’d say I hear a few more complaints about TOI, when compared to Seadrill, Pride and a few others. I believe it may be due to TOI being a BIG Swiss based corporation and many of the employees used to work for smaller companies that were bought by TOI. The impersonal ways of big corporations, with accountants judging the performance of rig workers and mariners takes some getting used to, if that’s even possible. It’s been likened to “Monday morning quarterbacking” being done by someone who thinks all balls are the same size and shaped the same.
Tengineer
[QUOTE=Steamer;32555][I]" … the fact they held these guys …"[/I]
Are you saying Transocean held the crew incommunicado and physically restrained them from leaving or phoning their families? I don’t think T.O. is into kidnapping or unlawful restraint. I won’t comment on folks who think they have to stick around and sign something just because some suit tells them to …
If they were held until the CG finished drug and alcohol testing, that is unfortunate but it’s part of the times we live in and government we have to live with.[/QUOTE]
I think you are incorrect. The USCG was working “with” BP and Transocean. There were two Subsea guys dropped off early that morning. Why? Because their employer demanded it! Tell me…why not give them a phone to call their wives?; why tell them they were going to contact their family and not do it?; Why not bring them into Port Fourchon and interrogate them there? You need to wake up!
Experienced a event back in the 70’s where a rig under tow capsized and sank with loss of life after all 3 tugs broke towline.
The following transpired:
*tugs were brought into the nearest port
*crew members were taken off the vessels and escorted by management to a undisclosed location due to media concerns
*the “in case of emergency” contacts were notified and apprised of the situation
*crews were sequestered in a motel and “monitored” by management
*individuals were allowed to call their families
*individuals were requested to give depositions and all complied
*everyone went home after management was satisfied
*all the while crews were provided for, compensated and paid out to the completion of their current hitch
**immediate family was eventually allowed…locatiion was leaked to the media…kaos ensued…everyone went home satisfied!!that was the 70’s man…with all the whining that goes on now days doubt that management could accomplish anything similar??
Renaming the thread is not enough. Is should have a disclaimer in the first post or it should be taken off the board completely. There are enough real problems with the oil spill. Giving Transocean a bogus charge that it can easily refute only turns Transocean into a victim.
[QUOTE=Jones Act;32840]I think you are incorrect. The USCG was working “with” BP and Transocean. There were two Subsea guys dropped off early that morning. Why? Because their employer demanded it! Tell me…why not give them a phone to call their wives?; why tell them they were going to contact their family and not do it?; Why not bring them into Port Fourchon and interrogate them there? You need to wake up![/QUOTE]
Either you responded to the wrong person or you have some serious reading comprehension problems.
To begin with I quoted another posters who wrote … watch carefully now, I am going to quote it again for you …[I]"… the fact they held these guys …" [/I]
Then I asked the question "are you saying TOI held the crew? Which in English, means “Are you stating that it is a fact that TOI held the crew against their will?”
Then I stated that I didn’t think TOI was “into kidnapping or unlawful restraint.” Which again, in English, means “I don’t believe TOI did any such thing.”
And finished with saying that “If they were held until the CG finished drug and alcohol testing, that is unfortunate but it’s part of the times we live in and government we have to live with.”
What is there to be incorrect about? Why should I call anyone’s wife about anything? Wake up yourself counselor, I was asking the poster who claimed the crew was detained. I hope you prepare your legal cases better than you do your website posts.
[QUOTE=offshoremackem;32588]Please find below a statement from T.O. Kinda blows a hole in your argument, always get the facts not second hand info…[B]Steven Newman[/B][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/B]
[FONT=Arial]President and CEO [/FONT][/QUOTE]
Dear offshoremackem:
I am not sure if you have access to TO or not but since you posted Mr. Newman’s recitation of what the post investigation “facts” were, perhaps you do. If so, could you please have him respond to the following questions:
(1) Why was this vessel owned by a Hungarian company and not a U.S. company?
(2) Why was this vessel flagged to the Marshall Islands instead of U.S.?
(3) What are the Minimum Safe Manning Requirements of a MODU vessel such as the DWH flagged to the MI?
(4) How do those differ from the U.S. Manning Requirements?
(5) Had crew members on board the DWH, in the months of October, 2009 through April, 2010, complained that they were undermanned and, in their opinion, it was a safety issue?
(6) Under Transocean’s practices and procedures then existing covering the DWH, who was the person “in command” or “in charge” just before the blowout on the DWH? and what were his/her credentials and licensures?
(7) Had Transocean reduced the number of licensed engineers on board the DWH in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2010? If so, why?
(8) Did you have personal knowledge that the annular seal had been “allegedly” compromised prior to the blowout? If not, what is the first “highest person” in management that did have such knowledge?
(8) (a) If you are taking the position that the annular seal had not been compromised and that allegation is false, are you willing to concede that there was a leak in the seal caused by something?
(9) Can you tell us, if it was Transocean that wanted to file a Limitation of Liability action or was it your insurers that made you do it? If it was the insurers, is Transocean willing to disregard its potential legal effect and pay all judgments rendered against it in full, if any?
(10) Can you tell us when the last time [date please] the BOP in this incident was above the water line?
(11) Can you tell us if TO has monthly preventive maintenance that must be performed on the BOP and, if so, were those completed properly and completely for the months of Jan., Feb, March and April, 2010?
(12) Can you tell us if a ROV can change a battery in the BOP? Or, can it tighten a bolt?
(13) Was the DWH’s Captain also licensed as an OIM?
(14) At the time of the blowout, who was in the bridge and what maritime licenses did they hold?
(15) Can you tell us if you have caused any of the documents that would answer these questions to ACTUALLY be released to any of Congress’ requests?
That is all I have for now as I need to go but, if there is any way possible to get these answered, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
[QUOTE=tengineer;32711]I also am on many rigs and I’d say I hear a few more complaints about TOI, when compared to Seadrill, Pride and a few others. I believe it may be due to TOI being a BIG Swiss based corporation and many of the employees used to work for smaller companies that were bought by TOI. The impersonal ways of big corporations, with accountants judging the performance of rig workers and mariners takes some getting used to, if that’s even possible. It’s been likened to “Monday morning quarterbacking” being done by someone who thinks all balls are the same size and shaped the same.
Tengineer[/QUOTE]
I have to agree with you about the size & I think maybe TOI’s penchant for assimilating the competition being a big cause of much of the unrest their folks feel. I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut when they start complaining about the mergers until I find out which side of the fence they were originally on. I hear how things were much better at GSF from those legacy folks, & how things were better at TO before they had to incorporate some of the GSF stuff from the TO legacy folks & then you have the old hands who started 4 or 5 companies back. Then of course, you have the whole “Evil Empire” take from some of the other guys you talk to. I think you are right though, I have talked to MANY of them with horror stories about trying to get an actual person to help them with pay issues etc when they have to deal with the corporate hive. Had one or two folks get pretty upset with me when I made allusions to the Borg & the fact that “resistance was futile. . . . . . until the gov’t stepped in & told them they couldn’t buy any more of the competition”.
Seems like the lowest number of complaints I’ve heard lately have been with Stena & a few of the other north sea sector companies (of course I guess I would find it hard to complain too if I was working 3 wks off 2 wks on for the same pay the rest of the world gets for even time). The last couple of Seadrill rigs I was on I noticed there was starting to be a bit of unrest growing for some reason. They used to be one of the places everyone seemed to be pretty content in my experience. May have just been something with the rig manager for those two rigs, I don’t know.
The one company that kind of surprised me was Atwood. I have been on a couple of their rigs that were in pretty tough shape, but the folks seemed to be pretty happy to be there & I didn’t hear a whole bunch of talk about going elsewhere.