Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Divers to Search for Survivors of Capsized Ship off Louisiana

VOA News

   The U.S Coast Guard in Louisiana said Thursday divers intend to search
   a capsized commercial vessel for survivors after the ship turned over
   Tuesday in stormy seas in the Gulf of Mexico with 19 people on board.
   In an interview with The Weather Channel, New Orleans Sector Coast
   Guard Commander Will Watson said salvage divers working with the owner
   of the ship, the Secor Marine transportation company, were waiting for
   a break in the weather to send divers to search the partially submerged
   vessel on the chance survivors were in an air pocket.
   The Coast Guard says it responded to an emergency beacon Tuesday
   afternoon from the 39-meter vessel, which was 13 kilometers south of
   Port Fourchon, on the southern tip of Louisiana. It issued an urgent
   marine information broadcast to which multiple "good Samaritan" ships
   in the area responded.
   They say six people were rescued Tuesday and since then, one body has
   been recovered and 12 people are still missing. Watson said aircraft
   and boats have covered more than 7,700-square kilometers in the past 70
   hours searching for survivors.
   The ship capsized in seas driven by hurricane force winds as what the
   National Weather Service has described as a rare low-pressure system
   formed off the Louisiana coast. The rough seas have persisted since
   Tuesday, making search and rescue efforts difficult.
   The ship, named the SECOR Power is what is known as a lift ship, a
   self-propelled commercial vessel with an open deck that is deployed to
   carry heavy equipment, often to support drilling or exploration. It can
   float freely or deploy "legs" to secure itself to the bottom of the
   ocean.