A report issued by the U.S. Coast Guard may help BP in its efforts to force Transocean to pay some of the costs related to the Gulf of Mexico spill. Last week, BP announced it was suing Transocean, owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig, for $40 billion in damages.
BP (BP), Europe's second-largest oil company, claims that all of Transocean's safety devices and procedures aboard the Deepwater Horizon and that the Swiss company's culture of mismanagement contributed to the spill.
The Coast Guard's report said Transocean's poor maintenance of electrical equipment, bypassing of gas alarms and automatic shutdown systems and a lack of training played a part in the largest oil spill in U.S. history, according to Bloomberg News.
BP took a charge of $40.9 billion in 2010 related to the spill. Transocean (RIG), the world's largest provider of offshore drilling services, said it disagrees with the findings in the Coast Guard report. The company said the Coast Guard inspected the Deepwater Horizon in late 2009, deeming it fit for operation.
The Coast Guard report report covers the explosions, the resulting fire, evacuations, the flooding and sinking of the rig, and safety systems, according to Bloomberg. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has jurisdiction over issues related to the Macondo well.
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