sailsmen
05-08-2010, 09:30 PM
The first sign of trouble aboard the Deepwater Horizon was the loud hissing accompanying the sudden release of pressure from the mammoth oil exploration rig, whose crew was capping the 18,000-foot-deep well it had bored in the Gulf of Mexico's floor about 50 miles off Plaquemines Parish's southeastern coast.
Positioning his 260-foot offshore supply vessel, the Damon B. Bankston, about 40 feet from the floating rig and awaiting the transfer of liquefied mud used in the well-capping process, Capt. Alwin Landry grabbed the radio in his wheelhouse. As he notified the rig that something had gone wrong with the well, liquefied mud was raining down on the Bankston.
Courtesy of Tidewater MarineThe Damon Bankston
No more than two minutes after the hissing began, at 9:53 p.m. on April 20, the Deepwater Horizon exploded, its fireball consuming the derrick that towered over the rig, punching through what otherwise was a clear and calm night, Landry later recounted. The Bankston's general alarm immediately sounded, rousing its crew of 13 seamen to quarters.
What began as a routine voyage in support of offshore oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico -- one Landry, 41, has done countless times in his 14 years as a Tidewater Marine boat captain -- quickly turned into a rescue operation amid a series of explosions and a massive fire, according to Landry. Of the 126 people aboard the Deepwater Horizon, Landry and his 12 shipmates pulled in and cared for 115 survivors, eventually delivering most of them to Port Fourchon 110 miles away. Eleven other rig workers were killed, aurthorities said.
Captain kept his cool
"This captain kept his cool in the midst of all of this, which to us is just amazing," said Joe Bennett, executive vice president for Tidewater Marine, the New Orleans company that counts the Bankston among its fleet of more than 390 offshore support and supply vessels.
Tidewater Marine declined The Times-Picayune's request to interview Landry and the crew. But the company released a three-page narrative of what unfolded April 20, taken from accounts Landry and the crew gave their employer and vetted by lawyers. Bennett also recounted what Landry described.
Read the company report about the rescue.
The Deepwater Horizon was still burning when it sank two days later. The damaged wellhead a mile below the Gulf surface continues to gush hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil each day.As Landry returned to work on Thursday, according to Tidewater Marine, the spreading oil had reached the Chandeleur Islands off St. Bernard Parish's marshy coast.
The Bankston was tethered to the Horizon by a hose when the explosion occurred.
The Bankston crew, which had earlier delivered groceries to the Deepwater Horizon, was back that night to take on the liquefied mud, which is shot down the well hole to keep pressure down. The mud then was to be circulated back up and pumped through the hose to the Bankston, where it was to be stored in the tanks below the vessel's large flat deck and delivered for disposal.
The Bankston's crew was waiting for the transfer to begin when the Deepwater Horizon exploded, Bennett said. Knowing his crew was in danger, Landry immediately ordered that his vessel drop the hose, allowing the boat to escape the fire, according to Tidewater Marine.
Mayday, mayday
Over the radio, Landry heard the Horizon's Mayday calls. He saw several sparkling objects dropping about 75 feet from the rig to the water. It was the reflective safety material on the work suits the rig crew wore. As most of the rig's crew rushed to life boats, several stranded workers leaped into the Gulf to save their lives.
Gerald Herber / The Associated PressOn April 21, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig is burning he Gulf of Mexico more than 50 miles southeast of Venice.
As the Bankston pulled back, Landry ordered his crew into search and rescue mode, according to the narrative. He ordered the vessel's 16-foot "fast recovery craft" into the water to seek survivors.
The Bankston's cook, Kenneth Bounds, also saw Deepwater Horizon crew members jumping into the water, and he sounded the "man overboard" alarm. Bankston crew members Louis Langlois and Anthony Gervasio "repeatedly and tirelessly retrieved rig personnel from the burning Gulf waters into the rescue craft," according to the narrative.
Less than an hour after the explosion, 115 Deepwater Horizon survivors were on the Bankston, Bennett said.
Injured survivors were treated in the Bankston's hospital room. Coast Guard helicopter crews hoisted the more seriously injured from the Bankston's deck and delivered them to land. According to Transocean Ltd., which owns the Deepwater Horizon and leased it to BP, four workers were critically injured. Others suffered broken bones and cuts and bruises.
A Coast Guard vessel arrived and took over the scene, freeing the Bankston to transport the Horizon crew to land.
Hot dogs and shared clothes
With several Deepwater Horizon crew members wearing nothing but their underwear, the Bankston's crew shared their clothing, Bennett said. Landry described the Deepwater Horizon survivors as being calm and attentive to their fellow crew members. The Bankston's crew, assisted by a caterer who escaped the burning rig, prepared meals of hot dogs and red beans and rice, Bennett said.
"It was not chaotic on board" the Bankston, Bennett said, recounting the crew's description.
He said the crew followed search and rescue protocols, which they practice in regular emergency drills.
"They reacted as they were trained to do, and we're very proud of their efforts," Bennett said.
Paul Purpura can be reached at ppurpura@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3791.
© 2010 NOLA.com. All rights reserved.
Positioning his 260-foot offshore supply vessel, the Damon B. Bankston, about 40 feet from the floating rig and awaiting the transfer of liquefied mud used in the well-capping process, Capt. Alwin Landry grabbed the radio in his wheelhouse. As he notified the rig that something had gone wrong with the well, liquefied mud was raining down on the Bankston.
Courtesy of Tidewater MarineThe Damon Bankston
No more than two minutes after the hissing began, at 9:53 p.m. on April 20, the Deepwater Horizon exploded, its fireball consuming the derrick that towered over the rig, punching through what otherwise was a clear and calm night, Landry later recounted. The Bankston's general alarm immediately sounded, rousing its crew of 13 seamen to quarters.
What began as a routine voyage in support of offshore oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico -- one Landry, 41, has done countless times in his 14 years as a Tidewater Marine boat captain -- quickly turned into a rescue operation amid a series of explosions and a massive fire, according to Landry. Of the 126 people aboard the Deepwater Horizon, Landry and his 12 shipmates pulled in and cared for 115 survivors, eventually delivering most of them to Port Fourchon 110 miles away. Eleven other rig workers were killed, aurthorities said.
Captain kept his cool
"This captain kept his cool in the midst of all of this, which to us is just amazing," said Joe Bennett, executive vice president for Tidewater Marine, the New Orleans company that counts the Bankston among its fleet of more than 390 offshore support and supply vessels.
Tidewater Marine declined The Times-Picayune's request to interview Landry and the crew. But the company released a three-page narrative of what unfolded April 20, taken from accounts Landry and the crew gave their employer and vetted by lawyers. Bennett also recounted what Landry described.
Read the company report about the rescue.
The Deepwater Horizon was still burning when it sank two days later. The damaged wellhead a mile below the Gulf surface continues to gush hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil each day.As Landry returned to work on Thursday, according to Tidewater Marine, the spreading oil had reached the Chandeleur Islands off St. Bernard Parish's marshy coast.
The Bankston was tethered to the Horizon by a hose when the explosion occurred.
The Bankston crew, which had earlier delivered groceries to the Deepwater Horizon, was back that night to take on the liquefied mud, which is shot down the well hole to keep pressure down. The mud then was to be circulated back up and pumped through the hose to the Bankston, where it was to be stored in the tanks below the vessel's large flat deck and delivered for disposal.
The Bankston's crew was waiting for the transfer to begin when the Deepwater Horizon exploded, Bennett said. Knowing his crew was in danger, Landry immediately ordered that his vessel drop the hose, allowing the boat to escape the fire, according to Tidewater Marine.
Mayday, mayday
Over the radio, Landry heard the Horizon's Mayday calls. He saw several sparkling objects dropping about 75 feet from the rig to the water. It was the reflective safety material on the work suits the rig crew wore. As most of the rig's crew rushed to life boats, several stranded workers leaped into the Gulf to save their lives.
Gerald Herber / The Associated PressOn April 21, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig is burning he Gulf of Mexico more than 50 miles southeast of Venice.
As the Bankston pulled back, Landry ordered his crew into search and rescue mode, according to the narrative. He ordered the vessel's 16-foot "fast recovery craft" into the water to seek survivors.
The Bankston's cook, Kenneth Bounds, also saw Deepwater Horizon crew members jumping into the water, and he sounded the "man overboard" alarm. Bankston crew members Louis Langlois and Anthony Gervasio "repeatedly and tirelessly retrieved rig personnel from the burning Gulf waters into the rescue craft," according to the narrative.
Less than an hour after the explosion, 115 Deepwater Horizon survivors were on the Bankston, Bennett said.
Injured survivors were treated in the Bankston's hospital room. Coast Guard helicopter crews hoisted the more seriously injured from the Bankston's deck and delivered them to land. According to Transocean Ltd., which owns the Deepwater Horizon and leased it to BP, four workers were critically injured. Others suffered broken bones and cuts and bruises.
A Coast Guard vessel arrived and took over the scene, freeing the Bankston to transport the Horizon crew to land.
Hot dogs and shared clothes
With several Deepwater Horizon crew members wearing nothing but their underwear, the Bankston's crew shared their clothing, Bennett said. Landry described the Deepwater Horizon survivors as being calm and attentive to their fellow crew members. The Bankston's crew, assisted by a caterer who escaped the burning rig, prepared meals of hot dogs and red beans and rice, Bennett said.
"It was not chaotic on board" the Bankston, Bennett said, recounting the crew's description.
He said the crew followed search and rescue protocols, which they practice in regular emergency drills.
"They reacted as they were trained to do, and we're very proud of their efforts," Bennett said.
Paul Purpura can be reached at ppurpura@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3791.
© 2010 NOLA.com. All rights reserved.