A fire on the Habitat drilling rig in the Pacific. 26 people were evacuated

On May 11, a fire broke out on the Habitat drilling platform off the California coast. All 26 people on the platform were safely evacuated. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, there was no fuel leak. The incident had no impact on the marine environment.

Fire during work on the switched off platform

The event occurred around 6.30 local time. The Habitat drilling platform is located in the Santa Barbara Canal area, about 8 nautical miles from the California coast. At the time of the fire, no mining was carried out there, and the personnel on the site were doing work related to its decommissioning.

The fire has succeeded extinguish before noon. The activities were attended by U.S. Coast Guard units, fire services from Santa Barbara and Ventura, federal BSE regulator and Marine Spill Response Corporation.

Crew evacuated, cause determination ongoing

26 people were evacuated from the platform. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, no one was injured. However, some local media reported that two people were to suffer harmless injuries.

A safety zone with a radius of about 900 metres has been designated around the platform. The service did not find fuel leaks or oil passages into the sea. No effects on marine animals or risks to coastal residents have been reported. Reasons fire will be established in the course of the investigation.

Problem of old offshore infrastructure

Habitat platform belongs to an older mining infrastructure off the coast of southern California. The facility no longer operates oil extraction, and according to the U.S. Coast Guard it was used to produce natural gas. The Federal BSE regulator previously indicated that the work related to the decommissioning of 20 closed platform wells was to start at the end of 2025.

The incident shows that shutting down old offshore installations remains a technically demanding and risky process. Even an inactive platform requires supervision, security and participation of specialised services, especially when work is carried out at sea, away from permanent port infrastructure.