Ensco International Incorporated (NYSE: ESV) reported that it has been informed by the U.S. Coast Guard that an oil tanker, the [I][B]SKS Satilla[/B][/I], apparently struck a submerged object which the U.S. Coast Guard has identified as the sunken hull of the ENSCO 74. The ENSCO 74, a jackup rig, was lost during Hurricane Ike last September. The U.S. Coast Guard has advised Ensco that the oil tanker reportedly suffered damage to its ballast tanks and was listing slightly, but its cargo tanks were not ruptured. [I][B]ENSCO 74[/B][/I] reportedly is submerged in 115’ of water approximately 65 miles south of Galveston.
As reported last September, ENSCO 74, a MLT Super 116-C, was lost and presumed sunk in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. At the time of the storm, the rig had been located in approximately 230 feet of water 92 miles from shore in South Marsh Island Block 149. ENSCO conducted extensive aerial and sonar reconnaissance following the storm but failed to locate the rig.
Verifying the position of other people’s lost crap is not fun. It’s way better to hit a charted object, at least then can say you’ve verified your own position down to the inch.
GALVESTON, Texas - Lightering operations that were monitored by Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Galveston personnel were successfully completed on the 900-foot tank ship SKS Satilla this afternoon, 65 miles south of Galveston.
The SKS Satilla has offloaded all of its cargo and is currently stable after sustaining damage to a large area along the port side of the ship’s hull below the waterline. Divers are on scene to remove a portion of jagged metal from the hull, and the ship will have a final assessment from engineers before being released to make repairs.
At approximately 8:20 am Friday, March 6, the SKS Satilla crew reported the tank ship was suffering an 8-degree port list due to water flooding into three of the ship’s ballast tanks. The tank ship was reported to have approximately 41 million gallons of crude oil onboard.
“Thanks to the efforts of a unified command, comprised of multiple agency representatives and maritime industry experts, over 41 million gallons of oil were safely offloaded from the damaged tank ship SKS Satilla. The vessel will now transit to a shipyard to make repairs,” said Cmdr. James Elliott, commanding officer of MSU Galveston.