U.S. NAVY SALVAGE REPORT DEEPWATER HORIZON ... - ESSM

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response
Chapter 1 - Introduction
1-1 Well Damage and Spill Details
Deepwater Horizon (DWH), a Dynamically Positioned Class 3 (DP3) column-stabilized Mobile
Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) was owned by Transocean and leased to BP. The oil drilling rig
was positioned 50 miles offshore Southwest Louisiana in the “Macondo Prospect”, Mississippi
Canyon Block 252 site. On 20 April 2010, after completing drilling of the Macondo well (drilled
to 18,000 feet below sea level) and cementing the final production casing, the rig exploded and
burned. Eleven workers were killed and 17 others were injured.
On 21 April, the fire on the rig continued to burn and United States Coast Guard (USCG) Rear
Admiral Mary Landry estimated potential environmental threat from the well was 8,000 barrels
per day (bbls/day) of crude oil. On 22 April the rig sank, coming to rest on the seafloor in 5,100
FSW, 1,300 feet from the wellhead. The marine riser was damaged and broke as the rig toppled.
The blow out preventers failed and oil/gas spewed from the well. At that point, BP estimated a
spillage rate of 1,000 bbls/day.
On 23 April, the incident was federalized and a National Incident Command Structure (NICS)
initiated. On 27 April, using an in-place Interagency Agreement, USCG verbally requested
NAVSEA Supervisor of Salvage (SUPSALV) to support the oil pollution response and commence
moving oil spill response (OSR) equipment from continental Emergency Ship Salvage Material
(ESSM) bases to the Gulf of Mexico. SUPSALV and its ESSM contractor began their response.
Figure 1-1 is a timeline that depicts the key events associated with SUPSALV’s response.
1-2 SUPSALV Tasking and Response Summary
On 28 April, the verbal request from the USCG was followed up by a U.S. Coast Guard Marine
Safety Unit (MSU) Morgan City tasking message. This message cited the USCG – USN
Interagency Agreement of 15 September 1980 and the National Oil and Hazardous Substance
Pollution Contingency Plan as justification for the tasking. The Federal On-Scene Coordinator
(OSC), USCG Sector New Orleans, requested immediate NAVSEA USN Supervisor of Salvage
support in response to the sunken MODU Deepwater Horizon and the ongoing pollution incident
In the Gulf of Mexico. The task estimated a 30-day commitment and requested underwater
engineering and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) support as well.
On the evening of 27 April, SUPSALV issued verbal orders to its ESSM contractor, Global,
Phillips, Cartner (GPC), to prepare oil pollution response gear for shipping to the Gulf Coast. As
of 29 April, 53 truckloads of gear had left the ESSM bases at Cheatham Annex and Port
Hueneme and the first two government staff members and 19 GPC contractors had arrived in
Gulfport, Mississippi.
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