1989 — July 31-Aug 1, Hurricane Chantal, Texas and Louisiana; Avco 5 Capsizes — 13

— 13  NHC (Gerrish). Preliminary Report. Hurricane Chantal, 30 July to 3 August 1989. P.4.

— 13  Roth, David (NWS, NOAA). Louisiana Hurricane History. 2003.

— 13  Roth, David (NWS, NOAA). Texas Hurricane History.  Jan 17, 2010 update, p.  62.

 

Louisiana       (11)

— 11  NHC (Gerrish). Preliminary Report. Hurricane Chantal, 30 July to 3 August 1989. P.4.

 

—  1  Gulf of  Mexico. ~100M south of New Orleans. Drowning; male, 48, leaving oil rig.[1]

–10  Gulf, July 31. Drownings; lift boat Avco 5 capsizes; 7 males known dead, 3 presumably.[2]

 

Texas              (  2)

—  2  NHC (Gerrish). Preliminary Report. Hurricane Chantal, 30 July to 3 August 1989. P.4.

–2  Brazos County, College Station. Drownings; raft capsizes, teenage males.[3]

 

Narrative Information

 

AP on Avco 5:  “Morgan City, La. (AP) — The floating oil rig that capsized in the Gulf of Mexico last week, killing as many as 10 men, had toppled before, its owner said Tuesday. ‘’I learned after buying it that it turned over at sea trial,’’ said Avis Bourg Jr., owner of the Avco 5 ‘liftboat.’ The rig was modified after that accident, he said. Bourg was the first witness at a hearing by the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board into the July 31 accident, in which the boat-like rig overturned as it headed for shore to escape Hurricane Chantal. A fishing boat and helicopter rescued four people. Divers for Chevron, which leased the rig from Bourg, later recovered four bodies. The Coast Guard and Chevron abandoned the search with six still missing. At the hearing, Capt. Jesse Morton gave the first public description of the 15-foot seas that knocked the vessel over and almost drowned him….

 

“Bourg said he bought the Avco 5 two years ago. He later learned it had capsized while being tested for seaworthiness eight years ago. The man he bought the boat from claimed to have spent $700,000 repairing the rig after the accident, Bourg said. Chevron attorney Bob Reish asked Bourg if he was concerned about the stability of the boat. ‘No, I was not,’ Bourg answered.

 

“After the accident, the Coast Guard said liftboats have a record of instability and a new inspection program began the day the Avco 5 overturned….

 

“The rig is a floating platform with retractable legs. It can move through Gulf waters on its own power or extend its legs 100 feet to the sea bottom when it reaches a drilling site.  At the time of the accident, it had been on a job about 25 miles off Morgan City to work on oil pipes on the sea bottom.” (Assoc. Press (L. Ashton). “Hearing Begins on Accident That Killed 10.” 8-8-1989.)

 

Roth:  “August 1st, 1989 (Chantal): This system formed as a tropical depression on July 30th in the Gulf of Mexico, moving north-northwestward. The system strengthened into a tropical storm on the 31st and a hurricane on August 1st, before striking High Island as a minor hurricane. Its strongest winds were within its western semicircle. Rainfall amounts were most extreme around Houston, with a peak of 20 inches falling at Friendswood. Beach erosion occurred at High Island. Two tornadoes touched down, with one reported at Crystal Beach. Damages totaled $100 million. Thirteen people perished.”  (Roth, David (NWS).  Texas Hurricane History.  Jan 17, 2010 update, p.  62.)

Sources

 

Associated Press (Linda Ashton). “Hearing Begins on Accident That Killed 10.” 8-8-1989. Accessed 6-12-2014 at: http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1989/Hearing-Begins-On-Accident-That-Killed-10/id-c029d94e20cf9a513271cffc9eac1bf4

 

Associated Press, High Island, Texas. “Hurricane Chantal hits land.” Del Rio News-Herald, TX, 8-1-1989, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=112310076&sterm

 

National Hurricane Center (Harold P. Gerrish). Preliminary Report. Hurricane Chantal, 30 July to 3 August 1989. Miami: NHC, NWS, NOAA, No date (circa 1989). Accessed 6-12-2014 at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1989-prelim/chantal/prelim01.gif and

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1989-prelim/chantal/prelim04.gif

 

Roth, David. Louisiana Hurricane History. Lake Charles, LA: National Weather Service Forecast Office, National Weather Service, NOAA, Department of Commerce, June 24, 2003 modification.  At:  http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lch/research/la18hu.php

 

Roth, David (National Weather Service). Texas Hurricane History. Camp Springs, MD:  NWS.  1-17-2010 update. Accessed at  http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/research/txhur.pdf

 

 

 

[1] AP report out of High Island, TX, writes that the man “fell from a Chevron oil platform…south of New Orleans.”

[2] “A 74-foot ‘lift boat’, Avco 5, capsized in the Gulf about 20 n mi off the coast south of Morgan City, LA. Four men were rescued but 10 others were trapped in the oil service vessel, of which seven are known drowned and three are missing and presumed drowned….The Avco 5 overturned while heading for safety.” Date of incident is from: Associated Press (Linda Ashton). “Hearing Begins on Accident That Killed 10.” 8-8-1989.

[3] Notes they were swept into a drainage pipe and that two others survived.