After the Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank, Transocean, BP, and every other company involved in the ownership of the rig and drilling efforts pointed fingers at one another. No one wanted to take responsibility for the catastrophe that claimed 11 workers' lives and caused unfathomable damage to the environment and businesses across the Gulf Coast. BP even filed claims against Transocean and others. As the owner and operator of the Deepwater Horizon, Transocean was responsible for the blowout preventer. Transocean had a strong safety record and had gone seven years without any serious incident that halted production, prior to the April 2010 explosion.
On September 4, 2014, a U.S. District Court Judge found BP, Transocean, and Halliburton guilty of violating the Clean Water Act. 67% of the blame for the oil spill was assigned to BP, 30% to Transocean, and 3% to Halliburton.