It’s now been 16 days since the Seacor Power, a 129-foot liftboat, capsized in the Gulf of Mexico about 8 miles from Port Fourchon, LA. On that tragic Tuesday, with severe weather warnings that should have prevented the ship from leaving port, 19 crew members went into the Gulf.
The Coast Guard rescued six mariners that day, and, in the last 2+ weeks, the bodies of six more have been recovered from the water. That leaves seven crew members unaccounted for, something that causes more anguish and fear for their families with each passing day.
Marine Warnings Were in Place
One of the most significant controversies of the Seacor Power disaster is that if the ship had heeded weather warnings, it would never have left the dock. It has since been alleged that the vessel’s owner, Seacor Marine, knew of the severe weather warnings from the National Weather Service. Knowing that severe weather was imminent, they are alleged to have still ordered the crew to take the 129-foot lift boat out into the Gulf.
It was less than 5 hours later that disaster struck the ship in hurricane-strength winds and massive waves. As liftboats aren’t designed to be underway during severe weather, the Seacor Power was quickly overwhelmed and capsized with 19 crew members aboard.
No Harbor Master System in Port Fourchon
Another issue from the Seacor Power capsizing is that, in Port Fourchon, where she was docked, there’s no harbor master system in place.
A harbor master, whom you’ll find in nearly every large U.S. port, is responsible for letting ships into the harbor, as well as allowing them to depart. In Port Fourchon, this vitally important task is left to the captain and the ship’s owner, here, Seacor Marine.
Several Lawsuits Have Already been Filed
Families of several of the victims of the Seacor Power disaster have already filed lawsuits. Named on most of the suits is Seacor Marine, the owner of the ship. Also named are Telos Energy and SEMCO LLC, the former being the company that hired the liftboat and the latter the company that constructed it.
It is expected that there will be many more lawsuits arising out of this horrific incident. One can only hope that the injured crew members and the families of the deceased are able to obtain some measure of justice for what happened.
