Bermuda-based mutual insurance company Oil Insurance Ltd. is likely to foot some of the bill for claims arising from yesterday's oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

The oil and gas platform operated by Mariner Energy burst into flames yesterday and unleashed a mile-long oil sheen into the water.

All 13 crew members were rescued with no injuries from the ocean near the burning platform and were taken to another offshore platform, the US Coast Guard said.

Mariner is one of the member companies of both Oil Insurance and its sister company Oil Casualty Insurance Ltd. (OCIL), according to the insurers' website.

Yesterday, OCIL's chief operating officer Jerry Rivers told The Royal Gazette: "Mariner is one of our insureds, but to what extent we may be impacted is unknown.

"It's so fresh right now that the client is dealing with the safety of the people on the platform and securing the platform itself and any potential leaks.

"It's too early to tell the magnitude of this thing. Things will become clearer in the next few days."

As of yesterday afternoon, Mr. Rivers said it was not clear whether the sheen that had been spotted near the site of the rig was a leak or residue from the platform itself.

He added that the policies offered by Oil and OCIL included pollution coverage, as well as rig damage.

The companies avoided major exposure to the biggest energy insured loss of the year, the Deepwater Horizon disaster, also in the Gulf of Mexico, since neither BP nor Transocean, the well operator and rig owner, were members of the mutuals.

Oil Insurance had shareholders equity of more than $2.56 billion as of the end of June this year.

See also Overseas, Page 11