Deepwater Horizon Explosion Caused Because of Widespread Failures

As maritime lawyers, it was heartbreaking for us to read about the seemingly endless failures on the Deepwater Horizon, in the hours leading up to the fatal rig explosion in April. The New York Times has analyzed interviews with survivors of the explosion, to come up with a gripping account of all the things that went wrong on that fateful night.

Key personnel on the rig delayed making important, emergency decisions, with devastating consequences. Besides, there was also a lack of preparedness for an event of this magnitude. Everybody on the Deepwater Horizon was prepared for smaller, adverse events. Nobody was prepared for a massive well blowout that was accompanied almost immediately by severe explosions and dozens of fires all over the rig. In short, owners and operators of the rig simply failed to put into place an emergency mechanism that would be triggered as soon as an event like this occurred.

People on the rig had only nine minutes from the time the drilling mud began to gush out of the well until the first explosion.

To say that the Deepwater Horizon’s emergency systems were complicated to operate is an understatement. One emergency alarm on the rig involved a total of 30 buttons.

It’s a gripping account of one of the most tragic days in maritime history. This holiday season, the maritime attorneys at SMSH take a moment to remember the 11 men who died on April 20, 2011.