BSEE and USCG home in on offshore oil and gas ships

摘要

As highlighted elsewhere in this issue of OSJ, the US Coast Guard (USCG) is taking a close look at a number of aspects of offshore vessels and offshore operations, as is the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). The director of the BSEE, Brian Salerno, made two announcements during a press conference at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston in May, both aimed at reducing the risks associated with offshore oil and gas operations. Earlier, the USCG announced that non-US shipowners who work in US waters supporting drilling for offshore oil and gas will be required to ensure that their vessels meet the same standards for explosion protection as their US counterparts. Mr Salerno announced the launch of the SafeOCS programme - an initiative aimed at collecting and analysing near-miss data. Secondly, he released the BSEE's first-ever annual report, which presents the agency's analysis of offshore activities, trends, indicators, incidents and other key data points.