NEW ORLEANS AP – The federal government claims the deepwater drilling ban in the Gulf of Mexico is vital to avoid more well blowouts and oil spills, rejecting the argument from some offshore service companies that their business will be harmed.

The contention, entered in court records late Thursday, is at the heart of the Interior Department’s answer to a federal lawsuit challenging the legality of the six-month moratorium filed by a group of offshore service companies June 9.