Survivor of Capsized Liftboat Details Escape During Coast Guard Hearing

Both Lewis and the other person who testified Monday, Captain Ted Duthu, said there was little indication that the weather was going to degrade so quickly. Duthu was captaining the nearby Rockfish — a liftboat similar to the Seacor Power. Liftboats have three or four legs that can extend to the sea floor and lift the boat above the water and then retract when the ship needs to move. The boats are often used in the offshore oil and gas industry to ferry supplies and service platforms.

Duthu told the Coast Guard panel that his boat had just lowered his ship's legs to the sea floor and raised his ship when the skies got dark. At that time he could see the Seacor Power in the distance. Rain started to fall.

“That’s when all hell broke loose. It started raining,” Duthu said. As it began raining harder, he lost sight of the Seacor Power in the distance. Waves were slamming the bottom of the Rockfish, and it felt as if his ship was dancing because it was moving around so much, said Duthu. His wind gauge read 95 miles (153 kilometers) per hour, Duthu said.
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Surprised any of them survived that!