A US court has agreed that BP’s contractor involved in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Transocean, is not responsible for all compensatory damage claims raised by third parties for the oil spill and that BP must bear some responsibility instead.

A United States District Court statement read: “BP is required to indemnify Transocean for compensatory damages asserted by third parties against Transocean related to pollution that did not originate on or above the surface of the water, even if the claim is the result of Transocean’s strict liability (including OPA and unseaworthiness), negligence, or gross negligence.”

However, the court did not rule out that Transocean, one of BP’s contractors, could be liable for other damages imposed by the US Government: “The Court does not express an opinion as to whether Transocean will be held strictly liable, negligent, or grossly negligent.”

BP still believes the punishment should be shared. A spokesperson said: “As we have said from the beginning, Transocean cannot avoid its responsibility for this accident… By contrast, since the spill we have stepped up, acknowledged our role and paid more than $7.8 billion in claims, advances and other payments to individuals, businesses and governments.”

Eleven rig workers died in an explosion on a Transocean rig back in April 2010, off the coast of Mississippi.