When a serious incident occurs offshore, parties are subject to a number of different pressures from different sides. Depending on where the incident arises, those pressures may be different and the response required may vary. In this issue of The Field, Pamela Milgrim of Skuld North America, with the assistance of law firms Phelps Dunbar and Wikborg Rein, looks at the differences in emergency response between two highly developed regulatory regimes – the USA and the UK – and how Skuld Offshore can help. The US In the United States, Owners face many issues when governmental agencies investigate a serious marine casualty. The primary investigative agencies are the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). In situations where offshore oil development on the Outer Continental Shelf involving mobile offshore drilling and similar units are concerned, the United States Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), a division of the Department of the Interior, may conduct a joint investigation. Initial response All Owners should have an emergency response plan that addresses how to respond to a USCG or BSEE investigation, care for its crewmembers, preserve evidence, and deal with public relations. Under USCG regulations, if necessary, Owners can ask to be designated as a "party in interest" so that they can formally participate in the investigation and any subsequent hearing. This is done by sending a letter to the USCG. Typically, however, Owners' initial concern will be to ensure that they have an adequate team to mobilize immediately to the vessel because the first action USCG takes is to send its marine investigators – the so called "blue suits" – to examine vessel documents and interview the crew as a part of a civil investigation. Where BSEE is involved due to offshore drilling operations, they will coordinate their investigation with USCG but have separate investigatory personnel. In a serious marine casualty