Offshore Crew Evacuated after Oil Leak off Australia Coast
All 69 offshore workers on an oil rig off Australia's northwest coast are safe after they were evacuated from the rig, post a massive oil leak.
The spill is about 8 topical miles long and 30 meters wide, and occurred at the West Atlas drilling rig, which is owned by Norway’s Seadrill. The company that operates the oil rig, PTTEP Australia, is conducting urgent repairs to stop the leak. The leak occurred in an extremely remote location, and this has made any salvage operations difficult. Aircraft are being used to spray chemicals to disperse the oil. Australian maritime safety authorities have initiated a national response plan to limit the impact of the spill in the Timor Sea.
Apparently, a plug on one of the deep wells came loose, causing a leak of oil and gas. However, it is still too early to know what exactly caused the leak, and how long it will take to plug it. Maritime authorities don’t believe that the spill will reach the Australian coast. The slick seems to be evaporating as it is leaking, causing the size of the slick to remain more or less the same size. According to Bloomberg.com, there were 69 workers on the rig who were evacuated after hydrogen sulphate gas began to leak.
Offshore Workers Work in Hazardous Conditions
It's not difficult to see why workers on an offshore rig work in some of the riskiest conditions. They are confined to a rig in the middle of a vast ocean, several miles from the shore, and are at the constant mercy of the weather and the seas. 
Although these employees work rotating shifts, and may not spend more than a few weeks on the rig, the few days that they do spend offshore can have them working through conditions that are very vastly more difficult than those on land. Shifts can be as long as 12 hours, and when there are strong currents, the rig can shift, causing a worker to lose balance if he is not holding on to the railings.
An offshore rig worker may be eligible for Jones Act seaman status, depending on whether he meets the criteria outlined in the 3-part test. He must be assigned to a vessel, the vessel must be in navigation and he must spend a significant amount of his time performing duties that contribute to the vessel.
The maritime lawyers at Arnold & Itkin LLP represent workers injured on commercial fishing vessels, cargo ships, tankers, offshore rigs, cruise ships, barges and towboats.
