running the show. we ll see how that message works. shepard: major, thanks. now the fish fishermen, they say they are supposed to be paid by bp every thirty days. hundreds say they haven t been getting their checks. an attorney for them joins us to explain and what he says is wrong with bp s action. and bp is reacting as well, that s next. my doctor told me, as we age.
shepard: it is the bottom of the hour. today desperate waiting game continues. hundreds, if not thousands of gulf fishermen are out of a job, livelihoods destroyed. many reportedly say that when it comes to damage payments bp is giving them a serious run around. the latest round of checks was supposed to have arrived day before yesterday. according to an attorney representing more than 600 fishermen it didn t happen. we called bp to find out why not. a spokesman told us, bp has not stopped payments nor has it suspended future payments we overnighted 406 checks on july 6th and 7th. july payments to companies have been approved and monthly payments to claimants continue. with us now the attorney representing the fishermen, jeffrey bright. did you get those checks? hi, shepard. the problem is those are
across the globe. the new york times is reporting the transocean drilling company is facing trouble from norway to iran. in norway, transocean could pay up to $140 million in taxes and penalties as part of a criminal investigation for tax fraud. human rights activists accuse transocean of working with companies to launder money for that country s oppressive government. the times also says transocean shipped drilling equipment through iran. and up until last year owned part of a company that did business in syria. both companies considered state sponsors of terrorism by the united states. transocean stock has dropped more than 40% since the deepwater explosion. but it looks like its troubles began long before then. next up, our friends at bp apparently withholding checks with some 500 fishermen along the gulf coast. jeffrey bright represents the fishermen and said he set up a payment plan that required bp to pay his clients every 30 days.
louisiana fishermen. jeffrey bright, the attorney, met with hundreds of his clients at a large gathering in jennings, louisiana. the attorney is blaming this alleged delay on changes to the bp claims process. now, the fishermen say that this alleged delay in reimbursement places an unfair burden on families who are living paycheck to paycheck. listen: they got money to spend on advertising, $50 million, on advertising, talking about how good they are and stuff like that and i think they certainly ought to be paying us, you know? what we deserve. they have shut us down, pretty much and hurt us. reporter: we spoke with bp a few minutes ago and a company spokeswoman denies that bp stopped or delayed any payments. she says bp remains committed to paying the fishermen claims and says in fact the company issued