By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Sept. 17 -- Salvage workers Wednesday were doing an underwater survey of damage to jack up Rig 14J, owned and operated by Parker Drilling Co., Houston, that partially collapsed Sept. 11 in 35 ft of water about 5 miles off the Chandeleur Islands along the Mississippi-Louisiana coast.
Parker officials said the rig was about to begin drilling operations in Chandeluer Sound 27 when "a malfunction" apparently caused one side of the rig to become partially submerged in the water, causing its drilling equipment to slide overboard (OGJ Online, Sept. 12, 2003). The cause of that mishap and the extent of damage to the rig have not yet been determined and are still under investigation, officials said. However, company officials said substantially all loss should be covered by insurance.
There were 41 people aboard the rig at the time of the mishap, most of whom apparently went into the water, according to US Coast Guard reports. However, all were rescued and evacuated to shore. Of the 12 people taken to area hospitals for evaluation of injuries, only one was hospitalized for observation. A Parker representative had no update on that person's condition Wednesday.
Pollution control specialists were immediately dispatched to the rig site following the accident, but Parker officials said Wednesday there was no indication of any pollution problem as a result of the accident.
USCG initially reported a sheen of oil about 200 yd wide and 4 miles long at the site of the accident. Parker officials said that sheen, apparently spilled diesel fuel, subsequently drifted out to sea and posed no threat to land. The rig had 10,500 gal of fuel on board.
The rig is a Baker Bigfoot model built in 1979 in Singapore. Parker officials declined Wednesday to confirm that the rig was working for Manti Operating Co., Port Barre, La. However, other industry records list Parker USA Drilling Co., the company's US arm, as the contractor and Manti as the operator in the Chandeluer area.
In a separate incident, USCG temporarily closed a portion of the Intercoastal Waterway after a crane fell into the water from a barge that came loose from its moorings in high winds Sept. 12 in Ingleside, Tex. USCG and other vessels picked up 31 people who jumped from the barge in that mishap.