Offshore staff
NEW ORLEANS — The US Coast Guard continues to search for the 12 missing crew members from the capsized liftboat Seacor Power 8 mi (13 km) south of Port Fourchon.
According to the Coast Guard, its crews have searched for a combined 70 hours covering about 6,380 sq mi (16,524 sq km), an area roughly the size of Hawaii.
Today, divers were on the scene to conduct an assessment and begin operations in support of the ongoing search and rescue effort.
While search efforts for the crew continue, the incident has been declared a major marine casualty. The Coast Guard is leading a preliminary investigation, and the National Transportation Safety Board will be joining that effort.
Rescue assets involved in the search so far:
- The pre-commissioned Coast Guard Cutter Glen Harris crew
- Coast Guard Cutter Amberjack crew
- Coast Guard Cutter Moray crew
- Coast Guard Cutter Benjamin Dailey
- Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew
- Coast Guard Station Grand Isle 45-ft RB-M boatcrews
- Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane crews
- Two Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplanes crews
- Two Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater HC-130 Hercules airplane crews
- Two Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters
- Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries crews
- Port Fourchon Harbor Patrol
- Port Fourchon Sherriff’s Department
- Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office
- One commercial air medical service crew.
In a social media post, Greater Lafourche Port Commission Executive Director Chett Chiasson issued the following statement:
“To say the last two days have been terrible would be an understatement. As we as a board and staff remain hopeful that more of the missing will be found, we pray for the ongoing situation that has been unrelenting in nature. More aptly, Mother Nature has dealt a blow to our mariners and offshore workers that make their living by servicing our Nation in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The truth is these brave men and women accept the risks and challenges of working in a marine environment to provide much-needed resources for all US citizens no matter their creed or ethnicity.
“The Lady of the Gulf statue, located in Port Fourchon, is a symbol that should give us all hope and strength at times like this as she gazes out on the horizon looking for the lost and calling them to her welcoming arms. I encourage everyone to continue praying for all those involved and to remember just how precious life is in moments like these. #WeAreFourchon #PrayingTodayPrayingforTomorrow.”
04/15/2021
