GALVESTON, Texas – Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Galveston personnel continue to work closely with representatives from Ensco Offshore Company to recover the submerged Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit MODU ENSCO-74.
The MODU ENSCO-74 is submerged approximately 24 feet below the surface of the water, 70 miles southeast of Galveston Island. The ENSCO-74 is an independent leg, jack-up MODU that was displaced from South Marsh Island SM 149 off the coast of Louisiana during Hurricane IKE.
A Coast Guard senior marine inspector onboard the motor vessel Northern Canyon discovered the MODU while investigating the cause of the damage to the tank ship SKS Satilla. No pollution has been observed in the vicinity of the submerged MODU.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service Houston-Galveston are issuing a broadcast notice to mariners hourly. The tug boat Crosby Eagle remains on location and the motor vessel Inez McCall is on-scene conducting a sonar survey in the vicinity of the ENSCO in preparation for salvage operations.
Coast Guard personnel are working closely with ENSCO representatives, the Texas General Land Office, the United States Mineral Management Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to mitigate any hazards to navigation and potential threats to the environment.
