Been a good weekend for serendipity, for me. I had not previously heard of Ben Sandmel, but I’ll be looking for more of his work in the future:
For 15 years, Dan Peterson worked as a cook on oil rigs off the coast of Louisiana. During much of that time Peterson lived on Grand Isle, the barrier island community that has experienced some of the worst damage from the BP spill. Although Peterson retired three years ago, he maintains close ties with his offshore compadres, and has keenly monitored the events of the past 100-plus days.
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Peterson did not participate in drilling per se. On a rig, food service personnel are considered a lower caste by those who actually work in oil production. But 18 hours of daily duty in the galley, where all crew members would gather at one time or another, created a dual reality in which Peterson was virtually omnipresent yet also figuratively invisible.
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“I saw and heard a lot,” he said. “As a cook I was regarded as a retarded derelict and accorded a degree of anonymity, which left me privy to many acts of bribery and extortion not open to public scrutiny. I was on more than one job where I was enlisted to go ashore and pick up a few bottles of Johnnie Walker Black and a fat envelope for someone with MMS.”
[…] __
Peterson’s assessment of the current crisis focuses on the critical issue of caution vs. quotas. “I don’t know the mechanics of what happened on the Deepwater Horizon,” he says, “but it is crystal clear in my mind why the potential and then later-realized [problem] occurred. It boils down to BP’s oxymoronical safety/production bonus plan. If everything went cool while digging a hole, everyone involved would be given a quite large, tax-free check at the end. The code of omerta was of paramount importance, and everyone was either D&D [deaf and dumb] or a cheese-eater” — a rat who would inevitably be hazed and punished by co-workers. In Peterson’s view, however, this dangerous situation was hardly unique: “I’ve worked on many BP rigs. Their safety efforts are no better or worse than any other company’s.”
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“BP has been leading the Coast Guard around by its nose,” Peterson continued. “They have Thad Allen [the retired Coast Guard admiral who is President Obama’s point man] on a leash. He acts subservient to them because he’s not an oil man. He’s a bureaucrat and…won’t stand up to them.” Plaquemines Parish Billy Nungesser, a very visible and vocal figure during the past 100 days, has called for Allen’s resignation…
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“Grand Isle is a very insular community,” Peterson concluded. “It’s distanced by two-hours’ drive from any semblance of civilization…But now it’s as if it was dead. Grand Isle has become like the town that Marlon Brando and Lee Marvin took over in ‘The Wild One.’ Since the spill, it causes me great pain to go back there.”
He’s got other columns at the link, too, and they’re well worth reading. Goddess knows there are plenty of stories to be told about this latest disaster, and too many people who’d prefer we all develop a terminal case of collective amnesia.
birthmarker
Well worth a read. Thanks!
Corner Stone
Thank the FSM this guy stopped at criticizing Thad Allen. Otherwise he’d get the full on Taibbi/Greenwald treatment.
Bob Loblaw
Didn’t you hear, the well was shut in? Problem solved. The oil all evaporated and stuff. Now we can go back to drilling. It’s like 99% safe, this was just one big overreaction to a teeny little snafu.
Cliff
Thad A. is a F’n Moron.
I gasp in pain every time more stupidity pours out of his mouth.
Ouch.
Zach
“I saw and heard a lot.” Clearly, this makes a single interview with him a credible source for stories about such diverse topics as the inner workings of MMS and the expertise of Thad Allen. The interview’s a good one for quote mining, but an article of this length ought to consist of more than one interview and a couple Googled quotes. People generally don’t admit to participating in felonious conspiracies so willingly; this ought to subject his statements to some sort of skepticism.
ondioline
Any article featuring the phrase “retarded derelict” is pretty much a must-read for me.
ondioline
Too, new Taibbi.
Also.
Continuum
Curiously, my impression of Thad Allen was the same . . . he was a man not suited for the task . . . failed to take command of the situation . . . and obsequiously catered to BP’s wishes.
I’m glad that someone else is now voicing these same feelings.
Zuzu's Petals
@Zach:
I too would like to hear the tales of MMS bribes from more than one source. Seems like if it was that widespread, there’d be plenty more stories like his out there.
Yep, the early/on-time bonus is a big incentive to get-r-done fast, but the rig owner has a competing monetary interest in keeping things safe…oil companies don’t like to hire drilling companies with poor safety records. Witness Transocean’s refusal to hand out executive bonuses this year (pre-April 20) in an effort to incentivize better safety conditions.
Of course since the Macondo well was so far over schedule, it’s hard to imagine the later decisions being driven by visions of bonuses.
As to food service guys being on the bottom rung, here’s a little inside tidbit: I understand the DWH’s subsea engineer, Chris Pleasant, worked his way up from being a galley hand. Has a reputation as first-rate guy.
p.a.
I have worked in a dangerous trade (judging by the insurance numbers) for several years, although nowhere near as dangerous as almost any job on/in/under water. (Probably only mining comes close on land). There is always the safety/quality/productivity triangle at play. Whichever stat is worst at the time gets the emphasis.
Zach
@Zuzu’s Petals: I too would like to hear the tales of MMS bribes from more than one source. Seems like if it was that widespread, there’d be plenty more stories like his out there.
Well, tales of MMS bribes and hookers and blow are widespread; I’m just inherently skeptical of someone who simultaneously claims to have delivered bribes of cash and booze and apparently strings together sentences such as “I was regarded as a retarded derelict and accorded a degree of anonymity, which left me privy to many acts of bribery and extortion not open to public scrutiny” spontaneously during an interview.
Zuzu's Petals
@Zach:
Except that the tales of (outright) bribes and hookers and blow were confined to the Denver office, which did not deal with offshore inspections. So I just think if it were as widespread and casual as this guy suggests, there’d be more tales out there.
I also agree about his odd juxtaposition of claims. Involving a food worker on that level just seems odd…not impossible, just odd. I’ll add that my son has worked in the offshore industry for years and has never suggested that MMS inspectors were being bribed.
Gus
@Zach: Yeah, I noticed that too. Seemed like he’s a bit too well spoken to be regarded as a retarded derelict by anybody.
Had a little argument about this with my brother in law the other week. He totally bought into the Time magazine article about how the whole thing is overblown. And I generally consider him a pretty intelligent, plugged in person. So that shit is working.