Trinity II LiftBoat incident with fatalities

In this image taken Sept. 9, 2011 and released by the Mexican Navy (SEMAR) on Sept. 13, 2011, the Trinity II lift-boat floats in the sea in the Gulf of Mexico after it was disabled during tropical storm Nate

Trinity II Liftboat diagram from Trinity Liftboat Services

In this Sept. 11, 2011 image released by the Mexican Navy (SEMAR) on Sept. 13, 2011, unidentified oil workers, wearing orange and red jump suits, sit inside a helicopter after being rescued by the Navy, 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the coast of the Gulf state of Campeche.

Trinity II LiftBoat incident occurred on Thursday, 9/8/2011 during tropical storm Nate in 25 feet of water, 8 miles (13 km) offshore port of Frontera in the SE Mexican state of Tabasco. Ten workers evacuated the rig that was disabled by the storm and escaped in an enclosed life raft. Six oil workers were rescued, three died and one remains missing, according to authorities. All were working for Houston-based Geokinetics Inc. on a liftboat owned by Trinity Liftboat Services based in New Iberia, Louisiana.

TLS’s Trinity II was contracted by Geokinetics for a 3D seismic survey for the Pemex Tsimin Tojual project.

Detailed account

Capt. Jeremy Parfait of Louisiana radioed the final word to the Mexican shore on Thursday (Sept 8th) after the storm thrashed the Trinity II liftboat so badly, one of its three stabilizing legs broke, and the boat-turned-exploration platform tottered into the raging sea: "We're going to lose communication. We're evacuating.“ But as they went to deploy a sealed, inflatable life boat equipped with water, first aid and a tracking device, the high winds snatched it from the deck.

Three workers for Houston-based Geokinetics, Inc., three contractors and four Americans who made up the liftboat crew took to the rough seas in a flat, rectangular raft with an inflated perimeter, some tethered and half-submerged, grabbing onto side handles because all 10 wouldn't fit on board.

One worker lost his grip within the first hours, likely from the force of the 12-foot (4-meters) waves and 110 mph (177 kph) winds, according to a navy admiral who oversaw the rescue operation. Rescuers were still searching for him Wednesday. The other nine were tossed about in their tiny raft for three days without food or water, and were carried by high winds and seas 140 miles (222 kilometers) away from the hobbled Trinity II.

Rescue crews found the raft on Sunday (Sept 11th) still carrying four men. Three more survivors were found bobbing in life jackets less than a mile (a kilometer) away after being separated from the raft the day before.

But rescuers who mounted a nearly 10,000-square-mile (25,900-square-kilometer) search also recovered two bodies, one tethered to the raft and another still buoyed by a life jacket in the open sea. Authorities identified the dead; 1 drowned and 1 died of exposure.

One survivor, also died Monday (Sept 12th) of exposure after being transported to a hospital.

Damage

Fissures were detected in the jacking legs of the liftboat. One of the jacking legs is reported to have buckled, and the vessel was listing. It is not clear if the liftboat is partially submerged.

Previous similar incident

Oct 2007 Perforadora Central's mat cantilevered jack-up rig Usumacinta hit the Kab 101 platform, 22 fatalities (20 of POB & 2 rescuers) after evacuating rig.