The recent flood of hundreds of new rigs, boats and barges came with an equally big flood of new rig managers, many of whom lacked the experience and self-confidence to fight the safety fascists- a weakness which is costing offshore contractors millions.

As federal safety officials responded Friday to a death on a Gulf of Mexico oil rig, the agency in charge of oil-rig safety received a rebuke from a congressional watchdog office that found poor management has caused it to fail in its most basic functions.