Updates on Gulf Coast Oil Spill & Transocean Rig Accident
(1) Latest photograph showing growing oil spill approaching Mississippi Delta and Louisiana Coastline: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=43846 (4/29)
(2) CBS: Oil Spill Could Equal Damage from Exxon Valdez
Environmental experts say the damage caused by the oil spill unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico may equal or even eclipse the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill off the southern coast of Alaska, the worst oil spill in U.S. history and one of the worst environmental disasters in decades.
Federal officials said Thursday that oil is gushing into the Gulf of Mexico five times faster than previously thought, after a deep-water rig exploded and sank there -- and the massive slick is expected hit ecologically fragile shores at any time.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/29/national/main6445490.shtml
(3) BP To Try Novel Approach
Starting later tonight (4.29.2010), BP will attempt to use a series of chemicals that are intended to break up the oil underwater. While never tried at these depths before, the research suggests that this might be a helpful strategy as crews work to stave off an environmental catastrophe.
http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2010/04/26/daily48.html
(4) Efforts to Cap and Contain Gulf Coast Oil Spill Welcomed But Maritime Worker Safety Also Important
Workers trying to seal a blown-out oil well spewing thousands of gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico face serious risk of injury because of the challenging work environment and complexity of the task, Houston maritime attorney Kurt Arnold said.
“Oil rig workers have proven time and again that they can accomplish amazing things,” Arnold said. “But these are complex operations and there are no dress rehearsals for capping a well nearly a mile underwater. As the companies work to clean up oil from the leaks, it’s imperative that they observe proper safety precautions to avoid putting workers in harm’s way and magnifying the injuries and deaths from the original explosion of the Deepwater Horizon.”
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/04/prweb3940554.htm
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During the 80’s and 90’s, fishing communities in small towns and villages along the coast lived in the constant fear of losing their loved ones to accidents on board these vessels.
The district court, as well as the appeals court, found that the definition of a vessel did not include a dredge. The company argued that Stewart was not a seaman. It did, however, acknowledge that he was a member of the dredge's crew, that he spent 99 percent of his work time on the dredge, and that his duties contributed to the function of the dredge. 
According to a New Zealand maritime lawyer, Perano appeared to be texting just before the accident. He seems to have failed to see the other vessel that was moored in the bay, until it was too late to avoid a collision. 
On July 25, 1956, two passenger liners, the Stockholm and the Andrea Doria, collided off the Massachusetts coast. The Andrea Doria sank with 1,706 passengers and crew on the board. 46 people were killed.
According to survivors, the .jpg)
However, before the rescue crews arrived, the Danna Elisabeth crew members abandoned the fishing vessel for a life raft. When the rescue boats arrived and began to transfer the crew members to the Bella, one of the seamen, Tony Moliner, began seizing. The Coast Guard rushed Moliner to the Easter Yacht Club after which he was medically evacuated to a Baltimore hospital.
On a boat with no one but other crewmembers around, it is easy for a seaman to believe what his employer or the vessel safety team tells him. Sometimes, it is only when clients visit a 
The Coast Guard mounted a search and rescue effort. By the time rescue teams arrived, the fishermen had drifted a few miles away from the point where the vessel capsized. All three men were clinging to a cooler in the water. The men were rescued by lowering a rescue basket into the water from an aircraft. They were transferred to a hospital where they received medical attention. None of the fishermen are believed to have been seriously injured.
Helicopters, lifeboats, and other vessels took part in rescue operations. Within an hour, one of the crewmembers was rescued by the crew of another vessel, which responded to a Mayday alert sent out by the Coast Guard. The surviving crewmember was not wearing a life jacket. The bodies of the other three crewmembers, including skipper Tony Hayton, were recovered later. 
A helicopter search crew was sent out, and the body was spotted five miles off the coast of South Padre Island. A boat crew was sent to recover the body.