Following the explosion of an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana, the situation was brought under control; for a few hours, it was feared that there would be another oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This situation is in no way similar to the tragedy which followed the Deepwater Horizon incident in April, when 5 million barrels of oil washed into the sea from a BP rig. Late yesterday evening, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that the flames bursting from the platform were extinguished within 5 hours of the incident and that there was no leakage. Mariner Energy, which owns the rig in question, located in Vermilion Bay, denied the possibility of there being an oil spill since all seven active wells were closed immediately. Somebody, however, spotted a shiny slick approximately 1 mile long, and raised the alarm. Last night, however, Coast Guard Captain Peter Troedsson stated in no uncertain terms that "the fire was put out and Coast Guard helicopters and boats on the scene did not see any evidence of there being an oil leak." The platform will nonetheless continue to be kept under surveillance over the next few days. The incident has put the risks inherent to offshore rigs, already a contentious issue in the USA, back in the spotlight.