In early 2015, I became interested in these aging platforms. They intrigued me because, according to some conservationists, their disposal represented another type of dumping—beyond that of oil, sewage, mine waste, and ballast—that was occurring offshore and at the edges of the law, sometimes with government approval. At the time, the most vigorous debate about how to get rid of these platforms was playing out in Malaysia, where more than six hundred offshore oil rigs and other structures were due for immediate removal.
