Seacor Power’s owner was in command when the boat stormed in and capsized, says Talos Energy | Business News

Talos Energy Inc., the company that commissioned Seacor Power to work on one of its Gulf of Mexico oil platforms, wanted to distance itself from the disaster of the elevator that killed four crew members and left nine missing off the coast of Louisiana. left it.

A statement from Talos said the owner of the vessel, Seacor Marine, in Houston, was in command and decided to depart from Port Fourchon to a Talos platform near the mouth of the Mississippi River. At the time, the National Weather Service was warning of tropical storms and ‘sudden higher waves’ in the Gulf. Three hours after the barge sailed, it fell in even stronger winds eight kilometers south of the harbor.

“The Seacor Power was in port for service and inspection several days before its departure,” Talos said in a statement by Brian Grove, an external spokesman for the company. “The vessel was not at a Talos plant and was fully under the command of its captain and Seacor Marine, including when the port had to leave.”

The statement comes as the Coast Guard searched for any survivors of the 19-year-old Seacor Power crew after a fifth day. Six were rescued and four bodies were found.

The spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board said the initial investigation into how the 234-foot-long vessel turned over focused on the weather conditions and communication between the captain and others involved. assists the Coast Guard and may take over the investigation.

The Seacor Power, which weighs nearly 2,300 tons, left Port Fourchon at about 1.30pm on Tuesday. In the port, the home, the control of the vessels and the voyage, rests with the oil service companies such as Seacor Marine and their customers. the foreign oil drills and operators, said Chett Chiasson, executive director of Port Fourchon. It is different from other regional ports,

“We do not have a harbor master system to check them in or out,” Chiasson said. ‘It’s not like in the port of New Orleans, where they have pilots who have to drive the big ships and get approval, or in the port of Morgan City, where the coastguard manages the system.

‘Here they are [the vessel captains] communicate with their shipment [who] tell them … when they need them abroad and when they need to come in. That’s how it works, “Chiasson said.

Seacor Marine is headquartered in Houston, Texas. CEO John Gellert, founder and chairman Charles Fabrikant, did not respond to requests for comment. An external spokeswoman for the company, Kendell Moore, said the company had no comment on Talos Energy’s statement.

Vessels such as the Seacor Power are not built for rough seas and extreme weather, say drivers of similar vessels. They have large, flat platforms – in the case of Seacor Power – 11,000 square meters, and carry heavy cranes to lift machinery and other large objects to and from the fixed foreign platforms. Their large protruding legs are up in the air when the vessel is in motion and are lowered to the seabed to level the vessel with their host platforms when standing next to it.

The long legs – about 200 meters for Seacor Power – can make them unstable in strong winds and sea.

Most accidents with elevators occurred when they were in an elevated state, usually when one leg gave way due to weight shift or an unstable seabed.

But the deadliest elevator incident to date in the Gulf of Mexico, the sinking of the AVCO V in 1989, which killed ten crew members, has similarities with the Seacor Power. The AVCO V was ordered to disconnect from its host platform and depart for the port in front of Hurricane Chantal.

The National Transportation Safety Board found that the contracting oil company, Chevron, was guilty of ordering the ship too late to disconnect the weather that sank it.

Talos’ statement reads that the company fully supports Seacor and the Coast Guard with the response.

“Like everyone in the foreign community, we are saddened and pray for all those affected by this tragedy,” he said.