Judge Says Transocean Can't Delay Spill Claims

Transocean RIG, the world's largest provider of offshore drilling services, cannot apply a 159-year old maritime law to delay claims related to the company's involvement in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the largest spill in U.S. history. In May, Transocean asked a Houston judge to limit its liability to about $27 million, the value of the rig's unpaid lease fees, but U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison ordered a stay on claims against Transocean, owner of the Deepwater Horizon, until after he ruled on the company’s cap request, according to Bloomberg News. Transocean owned the rig, which exploded on April 20, causing 11 deaths. The Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 is the law Transocean wants to apply to limit claims against the company, but that law is pre-empted by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, according to Bloomberg. Transocean acknowledged the older law would not apply to environmental damages the company may be facing.