The lead agency investigating the capsizing of the Seacor Power lift boat in stormy seas on April 13 said its initial findings are expected to be made public in late May, though the full report into the accident s causes likely won t be ready until late next year.
The National Transportation and Safety Board took the lead in the investigation when the U.S. Coast Guard ended its search and rescue mission five days after the capsizing, after which six crew members were rescued. The bodies of six dead crew members were subsequently recovered; seven more remain missing and are presumed dead.
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Volunteers decry lack of resources in Seacor Power search
Some volunteers expressed ire after learning the top safety executive at Talos Energy had spent the weekend deep-sea fishing not far from where the rescue efforts were continuing.
Tony Mcauley
Two weeks after the Seacor Power liftboat capsized 8 miles off Port Fourchon, its owner, Seacor Marine, and the U.S. Coast Guard took initial steps Tuesday to get the vessel out of the water and bring it ashore.
Meanwhile, hundreds of volunteers continued their search for seven of the 19 crew members who are still missing.
Seacor Power s owner among offshore service firms struggling with low oil prices, pandemic houmatoday.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from houmatoday.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Liftboats like the Seacor Power are offshore workhorses but not designed for rough weather
Tony Mcauley
The Seacor Power, the liftboat that capsized Tuesday in the Gulf of Mexico off Port Fourchon, is one of the workhorses of the offshore energy industry that do maintenance and construction and ferry equipment to and from drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
But it isn t built for the rough weather it encountered seven miles off the Louisiana coast, according to Dale Mitchell, owner of Mitchell Lift Boats in New Iberia. These boats are just not designed to take that kind of severe weather; not a lot of boats are, Mitchell said. If you knew beforehand that boat would have never left the port.
In the latest blow to New Orleans tourism industry, Carnival Cruise Line said Monday that Valor, one of its two ships that homeport in New Orleans, will now not sail until at least the end of October.
The cruise operator, the largest in the U.S., has been extending delays to sailings on a rolling basis to reflect the latest expectations in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. The previous update earlier this month already had both Valor and Glory, the other New Orleans homeport ship, not sailing until after April at the earliest.
Monday s announcement extended delays for several U.S. ships, including Valor, which have been in dry dock for upgrades and repairs. Valor has about 1,500 cabins and capacity for nearly 3,000 passengers, with crew of about 1,200.