Gulf Oil Spill: Chief Mate David Young, Transocean Deepwater Horizon Leader for Rig Emergencies, Testifies Before Congress

David Young, chief mate in charge of deck maintenance on the Transocean Deepwater Horizon oil rig the night the rig exploded caught fire and sank, testified before the Joint Investigating Committee that, although firefighting and abandon ship drills were held on the rig weekly, they were not held at night or in bad weather.

Listen to Young's testimony.

Under questioning by Coast Guard personnel seeking to eliminate crew fatigue and crew health problems as a cause of the explosion, Young testified that he didn't lack sleep, nor did he suffer from health issues in the hours or days leading up to the explosion, fire and spill.

A Transocean employee for three years, all on the Deepwater Horizon rig, Young, a graduate of New York Maritime College, has a bachelor's degree in naval architecture. Licensed by both the US Coast Guard and the Marshall Islands, where the rig was registered, Young was in charge of deck maintenance and ballast control on the rig the day it exploded, and worked a 12-hour day shift, from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

On the night of the explosion, Young testified that BP and Transocean executives were present on the rig; the executives held meetings to discuss short-term plans for the rig. On-scene leader for fires and emergencies, Young was also responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the rig's firefighting equipment, and took part in its abandon ship procedure the night the rig exploded.