Globetrotter 2 Hurricane Ida

[Kathleen Denson]

The Noble Globetrotter II began taking on water after riding out Ida, according to KLFY, a Louisiana CBS News affiliate, which ran images of lockers and gym equipment apparently tossed around in Ida.

On Sunday night, after Ida made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane, Noble Corp. had announced that all personnel aboard its three ultra-deepwater drill ships in the Gulf of Mexico were safe and accounted for after the storm.

As Hurricane Ida zeroed in on Louisiana, Howell McIntyre was trapped nearly 100 miles offshore aboard a 620-foot drillship named the Globetrotter II. The Category 4 storm pummeled the ship with 150 mph winds and waves as tall as oak trees, threatening to capsize it.

Of the offshore fatalities where Floodlight and HuffPost were able to determine the flag of the ship, about 40% occurred on vessels flagged in other countries, including the Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 men.

Companies register their ships in other countries that have weaker worker protections and environmental regulations than the U.S., allowing them to save money by avoiding higher standards. But crews on foreign-flagged ships and their families may have a harder time getting compensated under a U.S. law that gives them the right to sue for injuries and death at sea, according to maritime injury lawyers.

Those aboard the Globetrotter II during Hurricane Ida feared they would have the same fate. Nearby oil platforms and drillships were already fully evacuated, and the window they had to avoid the hurricane was closing. Videos the crew recorded as Ida bore down showed the vessel taking on water. Noble Drilling never gave the ship an order to stop work, and neither Noble nor Shell told the crew to evacuate.

Thirty-one Louisiana state representatives, including Republican House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, signed a letter in support of the rule change underscoring that it would benefit Louisiana workers. Even Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican and staunch supporter of the oil industry, supported the revision.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) recently introduced a bill to improve the oversight of foreign-flagged ships that operate in the offshore industry. The American Offshore Worker Fairness Act, introduced in mid-February, would require offshore energy vessels to provide details about who owns the ships on an annual basis. The bill could address the concerns of maritime injury lawyers who say flags of convenience allow shipowners to remain legally anonymous, making it harder to bring claims against them.

But the bill would only address one loophole that oil and gas companies use to try to escape liability when workers are injured or die offshore. Drillships are also frequently run by contracted companies because contractors cannot be held criminally liable for worker deaths. Under another law, oil and gas companies can try to cap the damages they have to pay to injured workers. Those payments are based on the value of the vessel, which drops after damages from accidents or severe weather events.

Matthew Shaffer, a Houston-based attorney with Schechter, Shaffer & Harris who has filed three suits on behalf of workers injured on the Globetrotter II, said the entire system is set up against workers.

Mills, the deckhand from southern Louisiana, said that despite the risks of his job, he tries to see the beauty in his situation, like the uninterrupted views of the night sky from a ship out in the Gulf.

In October 2020, a similar scenario occurred when Hurricane Zeta struck. A Transocean drilling rig named the Deepwater Asgard was operating in the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm approached. The captain of the Asgard started to take measures to evade the incoming storm, but he was ordered to stay put. The tropical storm became a hurricane. The captain ordered the crew to unlatch the Deepwater Asgard and flee from Zeta, but it was too late.

Hurricane Zeta battered the Deepwater Asgard and her crew. The vessel started taking on water at one point, and the crew members suffered physical injuries and emotional trauma during the harrowing ordeal.

The Deepwater Asgard and Globetrotter II are just two instances where hurricane warnings were ignored and crews were left to weather storms. While these crew members (barely) escaped with their lives, the same cannot be said for others. Entire crews have been lost to hurricanes, such as the 33 people aboard the El Faro when she sank in Hurricane Joaquin on October 1, 2015.

Offshore rigs must be shut in and evacuated before hurricanes and tropical storms hit. This is not an easy process, and it takes time. Plugging a well, testing the seals, and lifting the multi-million dollar low marine riser package (LMRP) can take days.

Again, the responsibility lies with the owners and operators of offshore platforms to ensure crews are properly informed of weather conditions. This involves a combination of closely monitoring weather reports and using onboard equipment, such as weather radars, to keep apprised of current conditions. From there, companies need to make the right decisions about shutting in and evacuating offshore operations. They must give crews enough time to safely shut in wells and leave at-risk areas.

Offshore rig owner Noble Corporation is working on a plan to bring its drillship Noble Globetrotter II into port for repairs following damages sustained as a result of Hurricane Ida.

Oil and gas operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico have been severely affected by Hurricane Ida, which swept across the Gulf Coast earlier in the week, forcing operators to evacuate personnel from offshore facilities and shut down production.

Some of the production has been restored but, according to a Wednesday report from the BSEE, about 79.96 per cent of the current oil production and 83.21 per cent of the gas production in the Gulf of Mexico is still shut in.

Three Noble Corp.-owned drillships were in the Gulf of Mexico during the hurricane, Pacific Sharav, Noble Globetrotter I, and Noble Globetrotter. The rig owner said last Sunday that, of the three, the Noble Globetrotter II was the only vessel that had encountered hurricane-force conditions.

Throughout all of the communications between the U.S. licensed master of the vessel and the Coast Guard, the master has maintained that the vessel was not in distress and not actively taking on water. Information released on social media, reportedly from the crew of the Noble Globetrotter II, indicates potential issues with safety, including possible damage to the hull, the Coast Guard said.

It also said that, out of an abundance of caution, it had launched a helicopter aircrew from Air Station New Orleans to conduct an overflight of the vessel and has diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Venturous to the scene.

According to the Coast Guard, the vessel and the company are developing a plan to bring the vessel into port for repairs. The Coast Guard will maintain communications with the master of the vessel until it arrives in port.

The agency said it was notified during the storm that the ultra-deepwater drillship Noble Globetrotter II had been damaged, and that it had been in touch with both the vessel's master and owner Noble Corporation since Sunday to gauge the extent of any damage and to ensure readiness of onboard lifesaving equipment.

The Liberian-flagged drillship and its 100-plus crew are currently located 80 nautical miles south, southeast of Grand Isle, La. The vessel's U.S. licensed master has maintained that the drillship was not in distress and is not actively taking on water, according to the Coast Guard. However, social media posts claiming to be from Noble Globetrotter II crew members have called attention to potential safety issues, including possible hull damage.

"Out of an abundance of caution," the Coast Guard launched a helicopter to conduct an overflight of Noble Globetrotter II and has diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Venturous to the scene while the drillship and Noble Corp. work out a plan to bring the stricken drillship into port for repairs. The Coast Guard said it will remain in contact with the Noble Globetrotter II's master until the drillship arrives in port.

"Each rig [Pacific Sharav, Noble Globetrotter I and Noble Globetrotter II] successfully secured its respective well in progress and took evasive actions to avoid the storm's path. Of the three, the Noble Globetrotter II is the only vessel that encountered hurricane-force conditions," Noble Corp. said. "The vessel maintained stability throughout the weather event and is operating on its own power with functional marine and safety systems. A full assessment of its condition will be completed as soon as the weather clears."

Crew members have told local media that Noble Corporation and Shell, who Noble is under contract with, were supposed to evacuate them before the storm hit but never did. The workers said they rode out 80-foot seas and 150-mile-per-hour winds.

From operator reports, it is estimated that approximately 95.65% of the current oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut in, and BSEE estimated Sunday that about 93.75% of the gas production in the Gulf of Mexico had been shut in.

A crewmember from the damaged drillship Noble Globetrotter II has filed a Jones Act seamans' injury lawsuit against operator Noble Drilling and charterer Shell, alleging that they failed to take appropriate action to protect the vessel and crew from the impact of Hurricane Ida.

In late August, the Globetrotter II was operating at a Shell-owned lease site south of the Mississippi River Delta. She was engaged in drilling a well when then-Tropical Storm Ida formed in the Caribbean, and her crew disconnected and departed the site to get out of the storm's path on August 28. The vessel still experienced "hurricane" conditions, according to Noble, and it sustained significant damage. A cofferdam space was breached, resulting in limited flooding, and photos taken on board appear to show damaged equipment on deck. Nine crewmembers sustained minor injuries, including four who were medevaced to shore.

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