Borr Drilling Limited said Monday it had recovered the bodies of four people missing after its Prospector 5 rig sank off Gabon, while a conflicting report said a fifth body had been found.
The company’s Nov. 2 update said the four bodies were being taken to Port-Gentil and the search for one person was continuing. Agence Gabonaise de Presse (AGP) alone reported Nov. 1 that a fifth and final body had been found; it did not name its source. In a statement filmed Oct. 31, a Gabonese government spokesperson said four bodies had been recovered and one person remained missing.
Borr said it appointed a classification society to independently review the sinking. The company said the society has experience investigating offshore and maritime incidents, but did not name it or provide a timetable. CEO Bruno Morand said “all possible causes of a catastrophic loss of stability are in scope.”
Prospector 5 sank Oct. 24 during jacking work as it prepared for a planned drilling campaign. Borr’s initial account said preliminary information pointed to a punch-through during preload work before the rig lost stability. Borr owned and operated the rig, which was contracted to support BW Energy’s offshore drilling. The update follows EconoTimes’ earlier report on three people located inside the wreck.
