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Gulf oil spill: Computer system to track maintenance aboard oil rig wasn’t working well prior to explosion

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A computerized system to monitor routine maintenance aboard the Deepwater Horizon was not working optimally prior to the oil rig’s explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, according to testimony made before a federal panel in suburban New Orleans on Monday.

Oil rig chief engineer Stephen Bertone said the automated system to oversee maintenance had recently been switched from one computer system to another. When asked by U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Hung Nguyen how disruptive it was to transfer to the new system, Bertone said, “It wasn’t the easiest.”

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Nguyen asked whether all the glitches had been worked out by the time of the explosion.

“It was a work in progress,” Bertone said.
The exchange was one of several Monday that indicated numerous problems with ongoing maintenance aboard the oil rig.

Both Bertone and another eyewitness, Lance John, a rig specialist, testified that they heard no alarms before or after the oil rig exploded on April 20, indicating the catastrophic failure of multiple backup systems.

-- Rong-Gong Lin II in Kenner, La.

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