Transocean executives donate safety bonuses to rig victims' families

Transocean CEO Steven L. Newman and four other executives executives will donate more than $250,000. STORY HIGHLIGHTSTransocean Ltd. senior executives will donate safety bonusesExecutives get pay raises in part for the safety record, earlier SEC filing saysCash awards based in part on company safety recordDespite Gulf explosion oil spill, company called 2010 "best year in safety" (CNN) -- Top executives of the company that owned the Deepwater Horizon oil rig announced Tuesday they will donate their safety bonuses to the families of the 11 workers killed in the April 2010 explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

The announcement follows criticism of a Transocean Ltd. financial filing that claimed 2010 was its "best year" in safety.

"The executive team made this decision because we believe it is the right thing to do," Chief Executive Officer Steven Newman said in a statement Tuesday. "Nothing is more important to Transocean than our people, and it was never our intent to diminish the effect the Macondo tragedy has had on those who lost loved ones," he said. "We offer our most sincere apologies and we regret the impact this matter has had on the entire Transocean family."

The five executives will donate more than $250,000 to the Deepwater Horizon Memorial Fund, which Transocean established. The fund has distributed more than $1.6 million to the 11 families.

The executives were identified as Newman; Ricardo H. Rosa, senior vice president and chief financial officer; Arnaud A.Y. Bobillier, executive vice president, asset and performance; Eric Brown, executive vice president, legal & administration; and Ihab M. Toma, executive vice president, global business.

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Despite Gulf oil spill, rig owner executives get big bonuses

Transocean declared 2010 "the best year in safety performance" in company history despite the Gulf oil spill. STORY HIGHLIGHTSTransocean executives get pay raises, bonuses, SEC filing saysCash awards based in part on company safety recordDespite Gulf oil spill, company claims 2010 "best year in safety" (CNN) -- Declaring 2010 "the best year in safety performance in our company's history," Transocean Ltd., owner of the Gulf of Mexico oil rig that exploded, killing 11 workers, has awarded its top executives hefty bonuses and raises, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

That includes a $200,000 salary increase for Transocean president and chief executive officer Steven L. Newman, whose base salary will increase from $900,000 to $1.1 million, according to the SEC report. Newman's bonus was $374,062, the report states.

Newman also has a $5.4 million long-term compensation package the company awarded him upon his appointment as CEO in March 2010, according to the SEC filing.

The latest cash awards are based in part on the company's "performance under safety," the Transocean filing states.

"Notwithstanding the tragic loss of life in the Gulf of Mexico, we achieved an exemplary statistical safety record as measured by our total recordable incident rate and total potential severity rate," the SEC statement reads. "As measured by these standards, we recorded the best year in safety performance in our Company's history."

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