Jan Wesner Childs
Divers continued to search the hull of the Seacor Power on Saturday, a day after they pulled two bodies from the wreckage amid dimming hopes that survivors might be found clinging to life in air pockets inside the capsized ship.
"Our deepest sympathy goes out to the family, friends and loved ones of everyone involved in this tragic incident," U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Will Watson, commander of Coast Guard Sector New Orleans, said in an update late Friday night. "We are using every asset available to us to continue our search efforts."
Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Lally told NOLA.com the two found dead Friday were in the port-side engine room of the ship, which is sitting on its starboard side in 55 feet off water in the Gulf of Mexico, a portion of it still visible above the water's surface.
One of those found in the hull was identified Saturday as Anthony Hartford, who had been the boat's chef for years.
“I had the best dad in the whole world. The whole world,” a trembling Antranae Hartford, 24, the youngest of his four children, told NOLA.com.
In all, four bodies had been found as of late Saturday afternoon and nine people remained missing. Six were safely pulled from the water after the ship capsized in stormy weather Tuesday off the coast of southern Louisiana.
(MORE: Fate of Capsized Boat Survivors Unknown)
Divers, hampered for days by storms, wind, and high surf, were finally able to reach the boat Thursday but couldn't get inside the wreckage. The team, contracted by the ship's owner, returned early Friday morning. They had to stop diving mid-morning due to dangerous weather conditions, the Coast Guard said, but resumed in the afternoon. They were in the water until 1 a.m., and back at it again Saturday morning.
Earlier, the Coast Guard revealed that contact via radio was made with two survivors inside the hull several hours after the ship capsized, but they hadn't been heard from since late Tuesday night. The weather was too rough to attempt further rescues at that time, according to the Associated Press
The Seacor Power capsized amid winds gusting to 89 mph and seas of 7 to 9 feet.
A body pulled from the water on Thursday has been identified as crew member Ernest Williams, 69, of Arnaudville, Louisiana, The other body recovered was that of David Ledet, a 63-year-old captain from Thibodaux, Louisiana.
(MORE: 2021 Hurricane Season Outlook)
The Coast Guard has searched more than 6,300 square miles. Several other agencies are also involved, with multiple boats, helicopters and airplanes on scene.
The Seacor Power is a commercial lift vessel with three powerful legs, each 250 feet tall, that can turn it into an offshore platform used for construction and other heavy-duty work.
Port Fourchon is Louisiana's southernmost seaport and is a major base for the U.S. oil and gas industry.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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