“Today, another oil industry disaster has taken place in the Gulf of Mexico when the Vermilion 380 exploded, putting the lives of at least 13 workers at risk. While it’s too early to know what impact this will have on the Gulf or the personal impact on these workers and their families, we know that this kind of disaster is a result of a dirty and dangerous industry that cuts corners on safety, and takes too many risks in the effort to find more oil and make bigger and bigger profits. In the past ten years, 69 people have died on offshore rigs, and there have been 858 fires and explosions, according to the Mineral Management Service. Where we have drilling, we’ll continue to risk explosions and spills.
Each time a disaster happens, we ask ourselves how it could have been prevented. The only way to prevent future disasters is to move away from offshore drilling, kick our addiction to oil and embrace a clean energy future.
How many times are we going to gamble with lives, economies and ecosytems? It’s time we learn from our mistakes and go beyond fossil fuels.”
On board the Arctic Sunrise
Greenpeace USA Oceans Campaign Director: John Hocevar +1 512 577 3868
Media Officer: Molly Dorozenski +1 917 864 3724
