Drillship Seacrest

History
United States
NameDS Seacrest
OwnerUnocal Corporation[1]
OperatorSeacrest Drilling Co., Great Eastern Drilling & Services Inc., Singapore[1]
Port of registryPanama[1]
BuilderFar East-Levingston Shipbuilding Ltd., Singapore[1]
Completed1977[1]
Identification
FateSunk, November 3, 1989
General characteristics
Class and typeTD-E Drilling Ship[1]
Tonnage4,400 ton[1]
Length362 ft (110 m)[1]
Beam70 ft (21 m)[1]
Depth24 ft (7.3 m)[1]
Installed power6,625 bhp (4,873 kW)[1]

DS Seacrest, also known as "the Scan Queen", was a drill ship built by Far East Levingston Shipbuilding Ltd., Singapore, owned by Unocal Corporation and operated by Great Eastern Drilling and Engineering company.[1] It was sunk by Typhoon Gay in the Gulf of Thailand on 3 November 1989. Ninety-one rig workers were killed after the vessel capsized,[2] resulting in a massive legal case brought against the ship's owners UNOCAL.[3] There were only six reported survivors: one Indonesian diver and five Thai rig crew, although these figures vary slightly depending on the source, though all of them agree the death toll would make the sinking the 3rd deadliest offshore disaster in history.[4] Many of the bodies were never recovered. Typhoon Gay produced winds of 100 knots (51 m/s) or more with 12-metre (40 ft) waves. It left hundreds of sunken fishing vessels in its wake, killing 529 people and leaving approximately 160,000 homeless.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Lloyd's Register of Shipping (1985–86). Register of Ships. London, England: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. p. 752. ISBN 978-1-906313-38-8.
  2. ^ "Unocal may scuttle Seacrest; only six survive". Oil & Gas Journal. PennWell Publishing Company: 43. 1989.
  3. ^ Burton, Stephen (2007). "The Seacrest Drill Ship a.k.a 'The Scan Queen'". Thai Wreck Diver. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  4. ^ "The Seacrest Drill Ship a.k.a "the Scan Queen"". SEA Explorers Club. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2012.