32 Bulgarian sailors have been safely evacuated after a fire broke out on the REM ANDES ship in the Gulf of Mexico. The incident occurred about 100 nautical miles south of Grand Isle, Louisiana, and the operation was coordinated by the US Coast Guard.
The fire broke out in the engine room of the vessel, which flies the flag of Cyprus. REM ANDES was built in 2012 and has a deadweight of 5,232 tons. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
There were a total of 46 people on board, including seismic engineers and Bulgarian sailors. The Bulgarian representative office of the owner company REM specified to Nova TV that there were 38 Bulgarians. 32 of them left the ship, and six remained on board waiting for a tug to take it to shore.
The distress signal was detected by an aircraft
The distress signal was detected by the crew of a Coast Guard C-27 Spartan aircraft from the “Clearwater“ air base. The aircraft headed to the area, and later a helicopter was sent to the ship.
The crew members, who boarded life rafts, were transferred by arriving offshore supply ships. They were transported to the port of Port Fouchon.
There were no injuries among the evacuees.This was confirmed by the press service of the US Coast Guard. The rescued Bulgarian sailors have already been accommodated in a hotel, and their return to Varna is being organized.
An operation is being prepared for the ship
The fire on the REM ANDES has been brought under control. An operation to rescue the vessel and the property of the REM company is currently being coordinated.
At the moment, there is no information about the cause of the fire or the extent of the damage to the ship. The six Bulgarian sailors who remained on board are awaiting the arrival of a tugboat.
Sources: news.bg, maritime.bg, fox8live.com