Lawsuits filed in the aftermath of the evacuation of a disabled liftboat in the Gulf of Campeche allege that the workers were abandoned by a rescue ship in the area.
A standby ship that was available in the event of worker evacuation took off even though it was known the Trinity II liftboat was in trouble and the crew had called for assistance, attorney Francis Spagnoletti told the Associated Press.
Moreover, the standby vessel departed the area because its crewmembers were getting seasick and wanted to go back to shore, Spagnoletti alleged.
We have previously questioned why the Trinity II crew was not evacuated prior to the storm and the attorney concurred.
Surviving workers Ted Derise Jr. and Jeremy Parfait, along with the family Craig Myers, who died, filed the lawsuits for unspecified damages in federal court in Galveston, Tx.
They and seven other crewmembers evacuated the Trinity II in Tropical Storm Nate about eight miles from the Mexican coast on Sept. 8.
When they attempted to deploy some of the inflatable rafts, the wind blew them away. All 10 persons were forced into a raft which wasn't large enough and some of the workers had to hang onto handles on the outside in the water. Australian Aaron Houweling lost his grip in the first few hours and died. His body was found later by the Mexican navy. American Nick Reed also died. A Bangladeshi man, Kham Nadimuzzaman, was rescued but later died in the hospital.
For three days the group drifted in shark infested waters with no food or drink. Some drank urine.
The group was found by the Mexican Navy on Sept. 11 about 50 miles off the state of Campeche.
Defendants named in the lawsuits are Houston-based Geokinetics Inc., which provides seismic data, Louisiana-based Trinity Liftboat Services, which operated the liftboat, and Mermaid Marine Australia Ltd, the Australian owner of the standby vessel.
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