The wreck of the anchor handling tug 'Jascon 4', which sunk while on static tow of a tanker 15 Nm offshore Escravos, Nigeria, has now been abandoned for safety reasons.
The owners, West African Ventures, report that the search and rescue operation that has been underway since 26 May, 2013 has had to be stopped for safety reasons. The vessel, Jascon 4,which is located some 30 metres under water in an upside down position, has become so unstable that the risk of injury to rescue divers has become unacceptably high.
During the rescue operation, ten bodies have been recovered, one crew member is still missing and, as reported on 29 May, one survivor, Mr. Okene Harrison, was found and has been brought to the surface safely.
Our divers performed an extremely difficult and dangerous task in the most testing of conditions and we are grateful for their professional service as well as the contributions of many other personnel who gave all their efforts to this challenging recovery operation.
Jacques Roomans, the CEO of West African Ventures commented: “The families of all crew members have been informed of the outcome of the rescue operation and West African Ventures will continue to give all support possible to the families of our deceased and missing colleagues. We extend our deepest sympathy to all of them”.