 — An outage involving a Coast Guard marine warning system and “data gaps” in radar systems were factors in last year’s deadly capsize of an oil industry vessel during severe storms off of Louisiana’s coast, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report issued Tuesday. Thirteen of the 19 people aboard […]){kind=link}
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An outage involving a Coast Guard marine warning system and “data gaps” in radar techniques have been elements in final 12 months’s lethal capsize of an oil trade vessel throughout extreme storms off of Louisiana’s coast, the National Transportation Safety Board stated in a report issued Tuesday.
Thirteen of the 19 individuals aboard the Seacor Power died after the offshore vessel capsized in the Gulf after leaving Port Fourchon. Known as a lift boat, the vessel had three legs that might be lowered to the ocean flooring, changing the ship to an offshore platform for servicing oil and fuel amenities. It had been chartered by Talos Energy LLC for work on a Gulf platform when it was hit by excessive winds in tough seas and capsized on April 13, 2021.
An NTSB preliminary report had stated the Seacor Power had begun to decrease its stabilizing legs and was attempting to show to face heavy winds when it flipped in the Gulf of Mexico. Six individuals have been rescued.
The NTSB stated in Tuesday’s report that the captain of the Seacor Power made a “reasonable” resolution to get underway the day of the disaster. But he didn’t have adequate climate information from the lift boat firm.
“Additionally, due to a Coast Guard broadcasting station outage, the SEACOR Power crew did not receive a National Weather Service Special Marine Warning notifying mariners of a severe thunderstorm that was approaching,” the report stated.
Another drawback: a lack of low-altitude radar knowledge that prevented the National Weather Service from figuring out and forecasting heavy winds that hit the vessel. The report recommended that the climate service, the Federal Aviation Administration and Air Force collectively think about reducing radar angles to enhance protection.
Multiple suggestions for the Coast Guard have been included in the report. It recommended improvement of a process to let mariners know when navigational broadcasting is out; modification of rules to require that lift boats be constructed for higher stability; and improvement of procedures to contain participation of business, native authorities and non-profit air rescue suppliers in rescue operations. The Coast Guard additionally ought to require that everybody employed on vessels in “coastal, Great Lakes, and ocean service” have private locater beacon units.
If the crew members and offshore employees aboard the SEACOR Power had been required to hold such units, “their chances of being rescued would have been enhanced,” the report stated.
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