NTSB Ready to Determine Probable Cause in Capsizing of the Liftboat Seacor Power

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is set to hold a virtual public board meeting in October to determine the probable cause for the fatal 2021 capsizing of the liftboat Seacor Power.

On April 13, 2021, the Seacor Power capsized off the coast of Port Fourchon, Louisiana. Among the nineteen people aboard the vessel, six people were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard and other vessels. Thirteen people were killed in the accident, including six whose bodies were recovered and seven who remain missing and are presumed dead.

The accident marked the worst offshore accident to hit the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon explosion more than a decade earlier.

The Seacor Power was built in 2002 and acquired by Seacor Marine LLC in 2012. It was operated by Seacor Marine and chartered to Talos Energy at the time of the accident.

A preliminary report from the NTSB issued in May 2021 revealed that the Seacor Power capsized as it was attempting to turn into the wind and lowering its legs to ride out a thunderstorm after having loaded offshore equipment in Port Fourchon earlier in the day.

Seacor Power’s First Mate told investigators that he was on the bridge with Captain Davide Ledet at the time of the capsizing, describing “white out” conditions as the vessel rolled to starboard. The body of Captain Ledet was recovered along with six others on the day of the accident.

According to the prelimary report, the vessel received an emailed weather report at 7:02 a.m. on the day of the accident, about five and a half hours before departing Port Fourchon, where it had loaded offshore equipment on its main deck bound for the Main Pass Block 138 lease area. The vessel capsized 3:41 p.m.

During the meeting, the NTSB’s board will vote on the findings, probable cause and recommendations as well as any changes to the draft final report.

The U.S. Coast Guard held a formal public hearing into the accident in August 2021. Over the course of the 10 day hearing, the board heard from 31 witnesses providing testimony into the conditions influencing the vessel prior to and at the time of the casualty. 

Additional information has been added to the public docket for the investigation. The docket includes more than 11,000 pages of factual information, including interview transcripts, a meteorology report and other investigative materials.

The virtual meeting will take place on October 18th and a webcast will be available to the public at http://ntsb.windrosemedia.com/.

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