TRINITY II

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Survivors of Trinity II still in hospital

On Sep 14 rescuers were still searching for the Australian oil worker Aaron Houweling who lost his grip within the first hours, likely from the force of the 12-foot waves and 110 mph winds after evacuating from the "Trinity II". The other nine men from the liftboat were tossed about in their tiny raft for three days without food or water, and were carried by high winds and seas 140 miles away. Rescue crews found the raft on Sep 11 still carrying four men. Three more survivors were found bobbing in life jackets less than a mile away after being separated from the raft the day before. The rescuers mounted a nearly 10,000-square-mile search during which they also recovered two bodies, one tethered to the raft and another still buoyed by a life jacket in the open sea. Authorities identified the dead as Americans Nicholas Reed, 31, and Craig Myers, 32, both from the Iberia, Louisiana, area, where the liftboat company Trinity Liftboat Services in based. Reed, who drowned, is the son of company owner Randy Reed. Myers died of exposure. One survivor, the Bangladeshi oil worker Kham Nadimuzzaman, also died on Sep 12 of exposure after being transported to a hospital. Pemex identified the other six as U.S. citizens Parfait and Ted Derise, also of Louisiana; and Mexican contract workers Ruben Martinez Velasquez, Eleaquin Lopez, Luis Escobar and Ruben Lopez Villalobos. They remained in a private hospital in Ciudad del Carmen on Sep 14, almost a week after an ordeal that left them dehydrated and sunburned, but mostly in good condition. Report with photo: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/14/ap/latinamerica/main20106347.shtml

Fate of two Iberians remains unclear

The fate of two New Iberia men who were part of the "Trinity II"-crew remained unclear Sep 12 evening. They abandoned the liftboat and were reportedly seen boarding an enclosed lifeboat that seats 30 men with the rest of the crew. Seven of the men were rescued in the night of Sep 12. Two of those rescued work for Trinity Liftboat Services of New Iberia. Nicholas Reed is the son of the company's president. A 10th man is still missing. The Mexican navy said four of the survivors and one of the dead were found in a life boat. Three survivors and one body were found in the water. The men were found about 50 miles off the coast of Campeche by the "Bourbon Artavaze" and taken by helicopter to the Campeche port city of Ciudad del Carmen, where they were admitted to a hospital run by Mexico's state oil company, Pemex. They were transferred to a private clinic on Sep 12. The six survivors were stable and conscious, though suffering from bumps, bruises and sunburn. All were working for Houston-based Geokinetics Inc. on the "Trinity II".

Rescued crew member passed away

One of the seven rescued crew members of the "Trinity II", a Bangladeshi worker, has passed away in hospital. Additionally, the bodies of two of the crew members from Louisiana who did not survive were recovered on Sep 11. Four survivors and one of the dead were found in a boat, while three other survivors and a body were found in the water. The search continued for the one remaining crew member still missing with four Pemex helicpoters, four boats and two airplanes guided by the Mexican Navy. The crew consisted of three Geokinetics employees, three independent contractors and four Trinity crewmen who operated the vessel.