Tuesday, June 15
June 15, 2010Thursday, June 17
June 17, 2010The Coast Guard says a crewboat taking 35 maintenance workers to an offshore natural gas rig off the Louisiana coast triggered a brief gas leak when it hit the rig.
Petty Officer Steve Lehmann says the Joe G. Junior knocked off a piece of the rig when it bumped it Friday, but the leak was quickly secured. He called the accident “relatively minor.”
The rig is about 15 miles south of Cocodrie. Lehmann said the rig usually is unstaffed.
The incident began shortly before 9:30 a.m. Friday while the supply vessel was moored to a gas platform near Cocodrie, about 80 miles southwest of New Orleans.
Of the total of 41 people aboard the vessel, 34 were treated for minor respiratory symptoms because of the gas release but one was airlifted to a local hospital, the Coast Guard said. Most reported nausea, scratchy throats and coughs, officials said.
Friday morning, five crewmembers stayed with the vessel, moving it to a safe mooring.
The Houma Joint Information Center reported operations in the Cocodrie area were stopped for the day. A safety stand down was issued for crewmembers involved in the oil spill response and recovery. Before cleanup operations resumed Saturday, an extensive safety briefing was issued.
“The safety of the people in the field is a top priority of this oil spill response,” said Unified Command Safety Section Chief Scot Rudolph in a release.
The U.S. Coast Guard is conducting a marine casualty investigation to determine the cause of the incident.
