Were oil companies “essentially allowed to conduct their own safety inspections”?
There’s also evidence that this happened, from testimony before a joint hearing conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard and the MMS after the spill began. In an account of the hearings, the Washington Post reported that the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that caught fire and sunk “was registered in the Marshall Islands, a Pacific archipelago that like many jurisdictions, authorizes private organizations such as … Det Norske Veritas to inspect vessels that operate under its flag. The owners of the oil rigs decide which of those organizations to hire, and they pay for the services.” The Post reported that when Thomas F. Heinan, deputy commissioner of maritime affairs for the Marshall Islands, was asked whether that arrangement presented a conflict of interest, he answered, “In some persons’ minds it might, but it’s been a long-standing facility that’s been in place for years.” The Post also reported that Coast Guard Capt. Verne B. Gifford testified that while the U.S. Coast Guard inspects oil rig
