Gulf Oil Platform Fire Is Out, No Apparent Leaks

HOUMA, La., Sept. 2 (UPI) -- A fire aboard a Gulf of Mexico oil platform Thursday has been extinguished and no oil spilled as a result, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Capt. Peter Troedsson told reporters Coast Guard vessels are on site at the Mariner Energy Inc. platform about 100 miles off the Louisiana coast and have found no evidence of an oil sheen on the surface of the gulf as a result of the explosion and fire.

Thirteen people were aboard the platform on Vermillion Block 380 and all have been rescued and brought ashore, Troedsson said. He said there were no reports of injuries.

"Mariner Energy Inc. confirms that a fire has occurred at a production platform located on Vermilion Block 380, approximately 100 miles from the Louisiana coast. All 13 members of the crew have been evacuated and safely accounted for. No injuries have been reported. In an initial flyover, no hydrocarbon spill was reported," the Houston company said in a statement.

The fire comes almost five months after the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. An explosion on a BP platform killed 11 members of the crew and the failure of the blowout preventer allowed millions of barrels of oil to spill into the gulf.

During the daily press briefing, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters the situation was much different than the BP accident. He said the Mariner platform is in less than 400 feet of water and not considered a deepwater operation and not subject to the administration-imposed moratorium.