Diving on the Oil Rigs...
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dazedone
Contributor
I have heard several times that the rig owners do not give permission to private boats.
http://www.skin-diver.com/departments/diveinusa/California/CaliforniaOilPlatform.asp?theID=804
Text and Photography
by Bonnie J. Cardone: "Oil platforms are busy, privately owned workstations and permission to dive them must be obtained well in advance from the oil company that owns them. Lee Bafalon, Senior Land Representative for Chevron, Inc., told me permission is not hard to come by but that it is only given to organized clubs or groups (not individuals) chartering a boat used to putting divers on these rigs. Those meeting the qualifications and wishing to obtain permission can call Lee Bafalon at (805) 658-4345. Have several dates in mind, the first one you choose may not be workable."
Hope this helps.
Text and Photography
by Bonnie J. Cardone: "Oil platforms are busy, privately owned workstations and permission to dive them must be obtained well in advance from the oil company that owns them. Lee Bafalon, Senior Land Representative for Chevron, Inc., told me permission is not hard to come by but that it is only given to organized clubs or groups (not individuals) chartering a boat used to putting divers on these rigs. Those meeting the qualifications and wishing to obtain permission can call Lee Bafalon at (805) 658-4345. Have several dates in mind, the first one you choose may not be workable."
Hope this helps.
DMDC01
Guest
Shoot, ya'll have to have permission out there in Cali? On the Gulf Coast it has been chalenged several times by the Oil Industry but the ruling still stands, The oil companies only own the rigs, not the water. Out of respect we do not block their loading lane (where the crew boats and supply boats back under the crane) they can tell you not to hook to the rigs, but can not stop you from anchoring by them or diving under them. They can how ever accidentally drop stuff so look out below!
outlawaggie
Contributor
DMDC01:
Same here off the Texas Coast. Although I have not had a chance to dive the rigs I do fish them often. As was said above the oil companies DO NOT own the water. They can stop you from tying on to the rig as you are hooking onto THEIR proerty but if you anchor there is nothing they can do. The ocean belongs to no man.
Was not a big problem here in California, before 9/11. For a while after we could ot dive them at all. So we will take what we can get.
There was also a period a few years ago when the rigs were closed to private boaters after a strange drowning. Three buddies were diving for scallops at one of the rigs south of Long Beach. Two divers had just returned to their boat when the third surfaced, yelled and sank. He was found on the bottom with a full BC, weight belt attached and 75 pounds of scallops in his game bag. Apparantly he was able to kick up to the surface, but once there could not continue kicking.
Also, you can't really anchor at most of the rigs that people dive out here... The ones I've been to are in 300-700 feet of water. Since no touching the rig is allowed, it's live boat only!
cool_hardware52
Contributor
Don't know if the practice persists........but a number of years ago I was at the dock after a boat trip when another boat came back from fishing near an Oil rig off the coast west of Newport Beach California. The boat was covered, I mean covered, all over with a nasty mixture of drilling mud and what appeared to be crude oil.
They had been fishing near a platform and the platform crew used a high pressure hose to wash off the top deck.....
Seems there was a less than friendly competition with a commercial party boat for a "favorite" position down wind of the platform. Seems the party boat operator was the "approved" guest of the platform operator and anybody else risked getting "hosed".
These days the EPA would probably lock up the platform operator, but it's wise to remember that !!@#$!@#$ happens, sometimes by design.
cheers,
ch
They had been fishing near a platform and the platform crew used a high pressure hose to wash off the top deck.....
Seems there was a less than friendly competition with a commercial party boat for a "favorite" position down wind of the platform. Seems the party boat operator was the "approved" guest of the platform operator and anybody else risked getting "hosed".
These days the EPA would probably lock up the platform operator, but it's wise to remember that !!@#$!@#$ happens, sometimes by design.
cheers,
ch
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