Diesel Fuel Removed from SEACOR Power Wreck

Salvage crews completed the removal of diesel fuel from overturned SEACOR Power lift boat off the coast of Louisiana, the Coast Guard reported Thursday.

Salvors used a method known as “hot tapping” to pump fuel from the SEACOR Power’s tanks into tanks on the SEACOR Eagle for transportation to shore. Crews continue the removal and isolation of hydraulic oil and petroleum products as the next salvage phase is developed, the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard has estimated that the 234-foot lift boat was carrying a maximum potential of 35,000 gallons of diesel fuel, lube oil, hydraulic, and waste oil when it capsized.

The Coast Guard previously established a Unified Command to oversee the salvage, wreck removal and pollution response to the capsized SEACOR Power, located about 8 miles south of Port Fourchon. The command consists of representatives from the Coast Guard and SEACOR Marine, the vessel’s owner.

The SEACOR Power capsized during a severe squall shortly after departing Port Fourchon, Louisiana on Tuesday, April 13, with 19 people on board. Six crew members were recovered safely following the accident. Seven people currently remain missing.

SEACOR Power is owned and operated by Houston-based SEACOR Marine and was chartered to Talos Energy at the time of the accident. The SEACOR Eagle, another SEACOR Marine-operated lift boat, is being utilized for the salvage operation.

The NTSB and Coast Guard are investigating the incident as a “Major Marine Casualty”.

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