Diesel Fuel Leaking From Grounded Oil Rig in U.K.
August 10 2016 - 2:06PM
Dow Jones News
By Neanda Salvaterra
An unknown amount of diesel fuel has leaked from a Transocean
Ltd. drilling rig that ran aground in Scotland, authorities in the
U.K. said Wednesday.
The U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency said two fuel tanks were
cracked on the rig, which was carrying about 280 metric tons, or
about 300 tons, of diesel. The agency said it couldn't determine
how much fuel had been released into the waters off the Western
Isles, where the rig ran aground on Monday.
British authorities said their investigation had been hampered
by poor weather conditions, preventing teams from inspecting the
rig on Wednesday after spending more than three hours aboard it on
Tuesday.
The 17,000-metric-ton rig, known as the Transocean Winner, was
being towed to Malta from Norway on Monday when rough weather
caused it to come disconnected from a tugboat. It ran aground near
the town of Carloway on the western side of the Isle of Lewis in
northwestern Scotland, authorities said. No one was injured.
Any leakage would likely be relatively small, but the area is
environmentally sensitive. Known as alternatively as the Western
Isles or the Outer Hebrides, the string of islands is known for its
rugged landscapes and wildlife.
The Western Isles Emergency Planning Coordinating Group said it
could take some time to move the rig because it got stuck onshore
at high tide during a storm.
The area is facing a spell of bad weather in the next few days,
which may also delay the effort to salvage the rig, the group
said.
Transocean, a Switzerland-based company that provides offshore
drilling services, didn't immediately respond to a request for
comment on Wednesday. The company said Tuesday that it was working
with authorities to remove the rig and find out what happened.
Transocean was the owner of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig
that exploded in April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11
workers and triggering the largest offshore oil spill in U.S.
history.
A spokesman for ALP Maritime Services, the Dutch towing company
responsible for moving the rig, said it has policies in place
requiring its crew to analyze real-time weather information and
that a review of the incident was under way.
Write to Neanda Salvaterra at neanda.salvaterra@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 10, 2016 13:51 ET (17:51 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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