Salvors Complete Seacor Power Fuel Removal

Salvage crews working at the site of the wrecked liftboat Seacor Power, which capsized April 13 off the coast of Louisiana, have completed the task of removing fuel from the vessel. In all, crews removed just over 20,300 gallons of diesel fuel. 

With the vessel still overturned and partially submerged, salvage crews had to drill into the vessel’s fuel tanks, make a hose connection, then pump fuel into portable tanks.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, about 4,500 gallons of hydraulic fluid remains on the Seacor Power, but the fluid is inaccessible. Hydraulic fluid tanks have not been compromised, the Coast Guard said, and the hydraulic fluid will remain in place until the Seacor Power is raised.

Salvage contractor Donjon-SMIT will now begin working to remove debris from the Seacor Power and refloat it. The Coast Guard said the task of raising and setting the 234-foot-long vessel aright will likely not occur until June. The Coast Guard’s safety zone, extending in a one-mile radius around the site of the incident, will remain in effect until June 15. There is also a Federal Aviation Administration flight restriction in place covering a five-nautical-mile radius around the site, extending up to an altitude of 2,000 feet.

Coast Guard crews and contractors from Oil Spill Response Organization (OSRO) will continue monitoring on site for oil discharges.

The Seacor Power capsized about 3:30 p.m. April 13 in severe weather, with reported 80-knot winds. A total of 19 personnel were on board at the time. Six survived, the bodies of six crew members have been recovered, and seven remain missing.