Search for two people on board sunken sailing lugger called off

28 May 2024

The search for the two missing sailors of the crashed sailing cargo ship De Gallant off the coast of the Bahamas has ceased. The French shipping company Blue Schooner Company announced this with regret on Thursday afternoon.

This means there is little hope for the two crew members who have been missing since the traditional vessel sank 20 nautical miles north of the Bahamian island of Great Inagua early Tuesday morning.
According to a US Coast Guard statement, rescue teams spent 44 hours searching from the air and on the water in a 3,700-square-mile sea area. In vain. The search was therefore called off late Wednesday evening, after sunset.
“It is with a heavy heart that we express our sincere condolences to the families and crew who lost these two sailors,” said Lindsey Seniuk, the coordinator of the search and rescue mission.

Six survivors, two missing

“When we send our rescuers out, we very much hope that we can bring people home safely, which is why hiring this case was one of the hardest decisions our staff made. We are grateful that we were able to bring home six survivors and grateful for the support of our partners in the Royal Bahamas Defence Force.” The De Gallant had left Santa Marta in Colombia on 11 May with a cargo of coffee, cocoa and cane sugar and was on its way to the Azores when it probably ran into a sudden storm off the Bahamas. There were eight people on board, four men and four women. At the time, violent local storms were moving across Cuba and Hispaniola towards the Bahamas. On Tuesday night, the schooner, which was more than 100 years old, became distressed and sent out a distress call.

Mayday at 03:00

The Coast Guard confirmed that it had received the May-Day from the 90-foot traditional sailing vessel, which ships goods around the world under the Vanuatu flag, but could not make contact with the crew. The Coast Guard immediately sent an MH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter from its station in Clearwater, Florida, to search for them.
Around 8am, the helicopter crew discovered two life rafts containing six Frenchmen. The survivors reported that the De Gallant had run into a storm and started making water. The crew members then donned yellow survival suits and boarded the life rafts when it became clear that the ship was sinking.
The helicopter crew was able to rescue the six castaways and bring them safely to Miami, while other rescue units continued to search for the two missing sailors who had not made it to the life rafts.

Scarce resources during rescue operation

The US Coast Guard was supported by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force. A Coast Guard aircraft, three helicopters, a medium-range observation aircraft and several boats were involved in the search operation.
The shipping company regrets the cancellation of the search operation. However, all attempts to persuade the Coast Guard to extend the rescue operation failed, the shipping company wrote on its website. Due to lack of resources and poor weather conditions, the coastguard had called off the search operation.
“We have to reckon with the worst-case scenario,” the shipping company said. “It is a turning point for our company, the maritime industry and the sailing cargo community, which is losing seafarers and especially extraordinary people.” “The incident, which led to the loss of a proven vessel with experienced professional seafarers, reminds us of the dangers of shipping and the seafaring profession,” the shipping company writes.

What exactly led to the accident and sinking of the De Gallant will be clarified in the coming days. The captain and responsible authorities will be questioned and meteorological and technical analyses will be carried out.

Source: Floatmagazin. Another article on the accident can be found in Maritime Executive amongst many more.

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