The Bodies Of Four Missing Crew Members From The Waymon L. Boyd Dredging Vessel Found
The Coast Guard says that the bodies of the four missing crew members from the dredging vessel Waymon L. Boyd have been recovered.
The Freightways News reported on its website that the accident happened on Friday, August 21st, at approximately 8:00 a.m. when the Waymon L. Boyd struck a submerged natural gas pipeline at the Port of Corpus Christi. The collision sparked an explosion and fire aboard the ship.
Authorities initially determined that all but of the crew members had been accounted for after the accident. The bodies of two of the missing crew members were recovered on Saturday. The bodies of the two other missing crewmen were recovered from the channel on Monday morning.
Mark Stauffer, CEO of the Orion Marine Group, the registered owner of the Waymon L. Boyd, made a statement to reporters on Monday afternoon.
“We are devastated by the loss of four of our colleagues, each of whom has been a valuable part of the Orion team for many years,” Stauffer said. “Our heartfelt prayers and sympathy are extended to our family and friends, and we ask that everyone please respect their privacy as we all work to recover from this terrible incident.”
Corpus Christi officials and the company both declined to release the identities of the victims of the accident at the time of the report.
The Texas General Land Office, which is responsible for investigating oil spills, stated that the vessel has the maximum capacity of 6,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Brent Koza, regional manager for the TGLO, said that the agency was working to ensure the containment from the spill spreading to environmentally sensitive areas.
So far, 1,600 gallons of diesel fuel had been contained and recovered from the water. An additional 680 gallons of diesel fuel and had also been recovered and removed from the waterway over the weekend.
The incident is currently under investigation by the Coast Guard and other agencies.