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With all the gloom on these lists, I thought the attached might be a welcome
change. I'm going through the Deepwater Horizon Coast Guard Marine
Board Inquiry transcripts (10s of thousands of pages so I'm just about
to give up) while gathering information for our STAMP analysis of
Deepwater Horizon. I'm also acting as an expert advisor to the
Presidential Oil Spill Commission so I need to know the details.

Below I have included an excerpt from the transcripts (I tried
attaching it, but the list didn't like that). It's an excellent example of
why I keep saying "blame is the enemy of safety" and why legal
issues and proceedings have no real use in safety engineering.
It could easily be the transcript from a comedy routine -- I can
see Monty Python doing this.

Here is a list of the main characters to help you follow the
transcript. There
are a zillion lawyers participating, at least one for every company and
individual involved in the loss, but for this snippet from the transcript
there is:
    Captain Nguyen: coast guard, co-chair of the investigation panel
    Keplinger: witness, dynamic positioning officer on DWH. Basically his
job was
       to keep the rig in the right location. He was one of the last off the
rig, along
       with the Deepwater Horizon Captain, Captain Kuchka.
    Kohnke is the lawyer for Transocean,
    Schonekas the lawyer for Captain Kuchka,
    Hymel works for Transocean but I'm not sure in what capacity, probably
         another lawyer.

Enjoy and Happy New Year everyone, Nancy

Q Yes, sir. Was it a surprise to

16 you that Captain Kuchta departed the scene

17 with the BANKSTON?

18 MR. SCHONEKAS:

19 I'm going to object, Judge. The

20 reason being is -- He doesn't know the

21 circumstances as to why he left, so how can

22 he be surprised or not?

23 MR. KOHNKE:

24 I can clarify that. Daun Winslow

25 stayed behind because of the ROV

Page 318

1 intervention.

2 CAPT. NGUYEN:

3 Yes, I understand.

4 MR. KOHNKE:

5 That ought to answer that.

6 CAPT. NGUYEN:

7 Yes, sir. I was trying to make

8 the linkage. From what I can see, there was

9 still an active Search and Rescue for

10 survivors and Captain Kuchta was the master

11 for the vessel, and if he departed the

12 scene, I just wondered whether that's a

13 surprise to you, to your knowledge?

14 MR. SCHONEKAS:

15 So the question is should he be

16 directing the Coast Guard in Search and

17 Rescue operations?

18 CAPT. NGUYEN:

19 No, the question is whether

20 Captain Kuchta should stay behind while

21 the --

22 MR. SCHONEKAS:

23 While the Coast Guard is doing

24 their search?

25 CAPT. NGUYEN:

Page 319

1 Yes, while there's a search still

2 going on for survivors.

3 MR. KOHNKE:

4 Well, Captain, hasn't it been

5 established the Coast Guard took control

6 over Search and Rescue?

7 CAPT. NGUYEN:

8 I understand that.

9 MR. KOHNKE:

10 Well, I think you do.

11 EXAMINATION BY CAPT. NGUYEN:

12 Q I understand that. But in terms

13 of the master of the vessel, of the crew

14 that he's responsible for still may be, you

15 know, in the water, nobody had confirmed the

16 status yet, don't you think that if the

17 captain didn't stay behind to see what's

18 going on, is that a surprise to you?

19 MR. HYMEL:

20 Judge, let me enter a further

21 objection. Captain Kuchta testified. The

22 captain could have asked him that question.

23 We're now asking questions to other people

24 as to what other people should have said or

25 thought, and it's just not fair.

Page 320

1 MR. SCHONEKAS:

2 And it assumes facts not in

3 evidence.

4 CAPT. NGUYEN:

5 Well, Mr. Keplinger is saying that

6 he was surprised, you know, at the response

7 of the captain right before both of them

8 jumped off the rig, and I just wondered what

9 kind of reaction he had by learning that the

10 captain departed with the vessel while there

11 was still an active search for survivors?

12 MR. SCHONEKAS:

13 The same objection, Judge. What

14 does it matter whether he -- This man

15 doesn't promote, hire or fire, and it has

16 nothing to do with what the captain's

17 obligations are once the Coast Guard assumes

18 responsibility for this.

19 This is nothing more than an

20 effort continuously by Captain Nguyen to

21 assassinate, character assassinate my

22 client, and I object to it and I suggest

23 that it shows Captain Nguyen's continued

24 bias.

25 HON. JUDGE ANDERSEN:

1 Okay. You made that of the

2 record. Do you want to continue to get this

3 witness --

4 CAPT. NGUYEN:

5 I'm just trying to nail down the

6 safety culture and the responsibility of the

7 master of the vessel.

8 MR. SCHONEKAS:

9 He has already testified about the

10 safety culture. This is nothing more than

11 Captain Nguyen's continued effort to try and

12 lay some fault at my client's feet, and he

13 has been unsuccessful thus far.

14 MR. HYMEL:

15 Judge, and I'm going to enter an

16 objection on behalf of Transocean that this

17 question does not have any reflection on a

18 safety culture.

19 MR. SCHONEKAS:

20 I further move that Captain Nguyen

21 recuse himself, because he has continued to

22 exhibit prejudice and predisposition.

23 HON. JUDGE ANDERSEN:

24 Okay. One objection per

25 objection.

Page 322

1 MR. SCHONEKAS:

2 No, that's a motion, Judge.

3 HON. JUDGE ANDERSEN:

4 Okay. Denied.

5 MR. SCHONEKAS:

6 And I would like the rest of the

7 panel to consider it, and I would like to

8 brief it, because I think we can document on

9 a regular basis --

10 HON. JUDGE ANDERSEN:

11 First of all, you know, also, what

12 we're going to do is -- Keep this in mind.

13 This Board is not litigating anybody's

14 rights.

15 This Board is going to make

16 recommendations, which others will use

17 perhaps to serve as a basis --

18 MR. SCHONEKAS:

19 Well --

20 HON. JUDGE ANDERSEN:

21 Let me finish. Not to litigate

22 anybody's rights, but to make

23 recommendations as to the future based on

24 the best information we have as to what

25 happened.

Page 323

1 So ultimately, when I'm making

2 rulings here, when the Board makes a

3 decision, understand that it does not affect

4 your client's rights, no liabilities.

5 MR. SCHONEKAS:

6 Judge, I respectfully disagree.

7 The reason being is that this Board makes

8 recommendations, and they're supposed to do

9 so without any predisposition or prejudice

10 against a particular party, and that

11 recommendation can or may result in actions

12 against my client's license and/or the

13 recommendation that criminal actions be

14 instituted, and that should be done by

15 someone who doesn't have an agenda, and I

16 submit to you that Captain Nguyen has made

17 that abundantly clear throughout these

18 proceedings, particularly beginning with him

19 being named a Party In Interest subsequent

20 to his testimony, and we have already been

21 accumulating many, many examples of Captain

22 Nguyen's comments, and I will brief it for

23 the panel.

24 HON. JUDGE ANDERSEN:

25 If you want to submit something in

Page 324

1 writing to the panel to consider, that's

2 fine.

3 MR. SCHONEKAS:

4 I will, Judge. Thank you.

5 HON. JUDGE ANDERSEN:

6 But now we're past my four and a

7 half minute rule in terms of me having

8 forgotten the question.

9 EXAMINATION BY CAPT. NGUYEN:

10 Q I'm simply asking you for your

11 reaction.

12 HON. JUDGE ANDERSEN:

13 But to clarify, to what?

14 EXAMINATION BY CAPT. NGUYEN:

15 Q To the fact that there's still an

16 ongoing Search and Rescue for survivors and

17 that the captain of the vessel departed the

18 scene?

19 MR. SCHONEKAS:

20 Objection.

21 HON. JUDGE ANDERSEN:

22 Wait now. I don't understand

23 this. Obviously, everybody left the rig

24 because of safety reasons. People then went

25 to the other -- They were taken to the other

EXAMINATION BY CAPT. NGUYEN:

3 Q There still was the status of 11

4 missing persons, which was undetermined at

5 the time, and as the master of the vessel,

6 he departed the scene, and I'm just

7 wondering what's your reaction in terms of

8 being the crewmember on that ship? That's

9 what I'm asking you.

10 MR. HYMEL:

11 Judge, once again, I want to enter

12 an objection. This is no different than

13 opinion testimony from a fact witness.

14 Captain Nguyen is not asking him

15 for a fact. He's not asking him what

16 happened, when it happened or where it

17 happened. He's asking for a reaction, and

18 that is inappropriate for a fact witness.

19 MR. SCHONEKAS:

20 I join in that objection, Your

21 Honor.

22 HON. JUDGE ANDERSEN:

23 You know, maybe we can put it this

24 way, so it's not a personal reaction, but

25 your understanding of the duties of someone.

Page 326

1 Was it your understanding of the

2 duties of the captain of the ship to stay on

3 the boat to which he was brought when he was

4 pulled from the water until the search for

5 survivors had been completed?

6 MR. SCHONEKAS:

7 By the Coast Guard?

8 HON. JUDGE ANDERSEN:

9 By the Coast Guard.

10 MR. HYMEL:

11 Judge, let me just ask, can we

12 first ask him if he has an understanding?

13 HON. JUDGE ANDERSEN:

14 Well, if he doesn't, fine. I said

15 "is it your understanding."

16 Okay. Do you have an opinion as

17 to whether or not it's the captain's duty to

18 stay in that area until the search for

19 survivors is concluded? Does anything in

20 your training give you an answer to that?

21 THE WITNESS:

22 I don't know.

23 HON. JUDGE ANDERSEN:

24 All right. Thank you.

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