Found this article in the New York Times (24 May)Article titled...

Found this article in the New York Times (24 May)

Article titled "A Behind-the-Scenes Firm in the Spotlight" By CLIFFORD KRAUSS and TOM ZELLER Jr.
Published: May 24, 2010

Final third of article pasted below.

Most analysts and legal experts say Transoceans liabilities in the gulf spill are probably limited. Under its contract for the Deepwater Horizon, BP agreed to assume all losses, expenses, fines and claims for pollution or contamination. And under the Oil Pollution Act, the wells owners, principally BP, are responsible for paying for cleanup costs.

Transocean is trying hard to protect itself. It has filed a petition in United States District Court in Houston to limit its liability to $26.7 million, trying to use a clause in an 1851 maritime law to hold liability to the value of the rig and its cargo.

BP would probably be able to recover damages from Transocean only if investigators found the company was guilty of gross negligence, said Tracy Hester, a visiting assistant law professor at the University of Houston.

Transocean is also facing a multitude of lawsuits for the 11 deaths and myriad injuries caused by the Deepwater Horizon explosion.

The company carries $950 million of third-party liability coverage for personal injuries and property damage. But even if its out-of-pocket costs for the accident are minimal, that is surely little solace for a multinational corporation that had come to see itself through its technological derring-do and its ability to push the frontiers of offshore drilling as exceptional.

In an interview published in a Transocean corporate magazine before the accident, Mr. Newman was asked where he would like to see the company in the next five or 10 years.

I think the hallmark of our organization has always been around innovation and technology development, Mr. Newman replied. Asked what the company could be doing better, he said, First of all, we have to improve our safety performance.