An international rescue mission has been launched for a Bourbon anchor handler tug supply (AHTS) vessel after it was hit by a category four hurricane in the Caribbean.
The French offshore vessel owner said that the Bourbon Rhode AHTS developed a water ingress when it encountered the hurricane while headed for Guyana.
“In particularly adverse weather conditions, the 14 crew members are facing a water ingress in the rear part of the vessel,” Bourbon said in a statement on September 26.
At the time, the Luxembourg-flagged ship was around 1,200 nautical miles off Martinique Island and 60 nautical miles south-south east from the eye of the hurricane Lorenzo in the Atlantic Ocean.
Bourbon explained that a crisis cell was immediately activated to ensure the coordination, out of Marseilles, of the rescue of the vessel and its crew, in close collaboration with authorities, including the Regional Operational Center of Surveillance and Rescue (CROSS) West Indies-Guyana.
In order to organize the quickest support possible, the CROSS has asked the bulk carrier SSI Excellent, which was some 200 nautical miles south, to change its route and assist the Bourbon Rhode. The bulk carrier is expected to arrive in the area in the morning hours of September 27, local time.
Opération de #SecoursEnMer Une alerte de détresse provenant du navire "BOURBON RHODE" a été reçue par @ag_cross aujourd'hui à 4h10. Le supply de 50m de long est situé à 1200 nautiques de la Martinique et à 60 nautiques au nord nord-ouest de l’œil du cyclone #Lorenzo " (cat 3). pic.twitter.com/2MqiNU6TUU
— Préfet de la Martinique (@Prefet972) September 26, 2019