Oil Rig's Alarms and Detectors Were Disabled, Engineer Tells Investigators

Fire and gas-leak alarm systems were disabled on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig so that crew members could sleep without being interrupted by false alarms, a chief engineer told federal investigators Friday.

Mike Williams said he discovered the alarms were "inhibited" about a year before the rig exploded April 20, killing 11 workers and starting the catastrophic Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Williams, who worked for Deepwater Horizon's owner, Transocean, said he repeatedly complained about the disabled alarms but was rebuffed by management, The Los Angeles Times reported.

"The explanation I got was that from the [offshore installation manager] down, they did not want people to wake up at 3 a.m. due to false alarms," Williams said.

The alarm systems could have alerted crew members to initiate an emergency engine shutdown system as soon as natural gas surged up the oil well onto the rig, possibly avoiding the explosion, the Times said.

Williams testified before an investigative panel from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Interior Department in New Orleans. The investigators are trying to determine the exact causes of the oil spill.