3 Transocean Employees Refuse to Testify in Probe of Gulf Oil Rig Disaster

[ktlight]

'Three employees of Transocean, owner and operator of the Deepwater Horizon, have refused to cooperate with a federal investigation into last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement are together conducting hearings in New Orleans on why the oil rig’s blowout preventer failed to stop the April 20, 2010, accident that killed 11 workers—nine of them Transocean employees— and spewed nearly five million barrels of oil into the ocean.

Michael Bromwich, director of the ocean energy bureau, said the employees’ refusal to testify was “unacceptable” and that Transocean should punish them for not cooperating.'

source: http://www.allgov.com/Top_Stories/ViewNews/3_Transocean_Employees_Refuse_to_Testify_in_Probe_of_Gulf_Oil_Rig_Disaster_110404

More No-Show Witnesses in Oil Rig Explosion Probe

http://www.allgov.com/ViewNews/More_No_Show_Witnesses_in_Oil_Rig_Explosion_Probe_100722

[oceanz]

http://brontecapital.blogspot.com/

Saturday, April 2, 2011
When senior executive pay becomes parody: Transocean edition
Transocean awards bonuses to senior management at least in part based on safety. That looks honorable to me.

But as the WSJ reports:


Transocean Ltd. had its "best year in safety performance" despite the explosion of its Deepwater Horizon rig that left 11 dead and oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, the world's largest offshore-rig company said in a securities filing Friday.
Accordingly, Transocean's executives received two-thirds of their target safety bonus. Safety accounts for 25% of the equation that determines the yearly cash bonuses, along with financial factors including new rig contracts.
The payout contrasts with that for 2009, when the company withheld all executive bonuses after incurring four fatalities that year "to underscore the company's commitment to safety."

I want to express my view about the obligation of shareholders to hold management accountable and the problems in corporate law and practice that make that difficult (eg staggered boards) but sometimes you need to just look in wonder at where we have got to.

[ktlight]

http://brontecapital.blogspot.com/

Saturday, April 2, 2011
When senior executive pay becomes parody: Transocean edition
Transocean awards bonuses to senior management at least in part based on safety. That looks honorable to me.

But as the WSJ reports:


Transocean Ltd. had its "best year in safety performance" despite the explosion of its Deepwater Horizon rig that left 11 dead and oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, the world's largest offshore-rig company said in a securities filing Friday.
Accordingly, Transocean's executives received two-thirds of their target safety bonus. Safety accounts for 25% of the equation that determines the yearly cash bonuses, along with financial factors including new rig contracts.
The payout contrasts with that for 2009, when the company withheld all executive bonuses after incurring four fatalities that year "to underscore the company's commitment to safety."

I want to express my view about the obligation of shareholders to hold management accountable and the problems in corporate law and practice that make that difficult (eg staggered boards) but sometimes you need to just look in wonder at where we have got to.

I agree with what you say about shareholders, in particular. However, I recall when the Stock Market in UK fell and all of the shareholders took the case to court and won the right to be paid, despite the fact that they took the risk.

I applaud the bravery of those who refuse(d) to comply with the federal demands.