Tugboat Jascon 4 Sinks in Heavy Weather Off Nigeria, Fate of Crew Uncertain [UPDATE]

Image: West African Ventures

Update: A statement from West African Ventures has confirmed that one crew member, the cook, was found alive aboard the Jascon 4 by divers, which has capsized but not sank. A search is still underway for any remaining survivors.

Statement from West African Ventures:

Further to previous reports made on the incident of our anchor handling tug Jascon 4, which sunk while on static tow of a tanker 15 Nm offshore Escravos, Nigeria on Sunday 26 report that divers have found and identified one survivor, Mr. Okene Harrison.

He was the Vessel’s cook and of Nigerian nationality.

Mr. Harrison was medically examined and he is currently in a stable condition and under treatment on board the diving support vessel.

Jan Messchendorp, General Manager of West African Ventures commented: “We are very grateful for the survival of Mr. Harrison. We express our sincere gratitude to our divers for their outstanding performance and their inexhaustible efforts made so far. Our thoughts continue to be with the families of the rest of the crew”.

The search and rescue operation will continue until all crew members are accounted for and we are in the meantime offering all support possible to the families of the missing crew members. We have also commenced a full investigation into the cause of the incident.

ABUJA, May 28 (Reuters) – Twelve crew members are missing after a Chevron contracted tug boat sank on Sunday due to rough seas off the coast of Nigeria, the ship’s owner said on Tuesday.

The Jascon-4 capsized early on Sunday due to “heavy ocean swells” while the vessel was “performing towing operations” at a mooring point around 30 kilometres off oil-producing Delta state, Chevron’s Nigeria unit said on Sunday.

“Unfortunately all twelve crew members are still missing,” a spokeswoman for the ship’s owner West African Ventures said.

“Rescue operations involving sea divers are still ongoing and a full investigation into the incident is taking place,” she said. West African Ventures is owned by Sea Trucks Group.

Chevron Nigeria declined to give an update.

Chevron’s operates offshore and onshore joint ventures with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp and spends around $3 billion a year on its Nigerian operations, the company says.

The U.S. energy firm’s 2012 net daily production from Nigeria was 238,000 barrels of crude oil, 165 million cubic feet of natural gas and 4,000 barrels of liquefied petroleum gas.

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