One of the crew members from the sunken anchor handler tug supply (AHTS) vessel Bourbon Rhode has been confirmed as deceased, according to the latest update from French offshore vessel owner Bourbon.
The body of the missing seafarer was located by one of the aircraft involved in the search and has been recovered by one of the five vessels that came to assist. The seafarer’s family was immediately notified and they requested that the identity not be disclosed, the company added.
Rescue operations are continuing to find the other 10 crew members, with significant maritime and air search resources deployed by the French and American authorities.
“We remain fully mobilized on search operations to find the other missing seafarers, ” Gaël Bodénès, Chief Executive Officer of BOURBON Corporation, said.
Bourbon Rhode sank in the Atlantic Ocean after developing a water ingress in the rear part when it was hit by a category four hurricane. At the time, the ship was some 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.
Mobilized rescue teams earlier recovered a lifeboat with 3 crew members inside. At the time of the incident there were a total of 14 seafarers aboard Bourbon Rhode.