Seacor Power using $25M insurance payout to eliminate debt

(U.S. Coast Guard via AP)

The owner of an offshore oilfield boat that overturned in Louisiana plans to use $25 million in insurance on the vessel to pay down part of the Texas company’s debts.

The Associated Press reports attorneys for families of men killed when the Seacor Power flipped in April are worried that could leave less money available to compensate for their loss.

Six men were rescued, six bodies were found and seven men are missing and presumed dead after the wreck.

The Seacor Power was a “lift boat” equipped with legs that can be lowered to the ocean floor, lifting the vessel itself above the water as a temporary work platform. It overturned as the crew was lowering those legs and trying to turn into heavy winds, according to National Transportation Safety Board investigators.

Seacor Marine Holdings Inc. of Houston, described its plan in securities filings last week. The agreement with lender J.P. Morgan Chase Inc, would use hull and machinery insurance on the boat to help pay two $25 million installments and settle a debt of more than $117 million.

The Associated Press has the full story.