Loved ones wait for answers six months after Seacor capsized

Neale Zeringue

3 years ago

PORT FOURCHON, La. (KLFY) — Six months ago, on April 13, the Seacor Power capsized off the shore of Port Fourchon. 19 men were on board. Six men were rescued the day of the incident, six died, and seven still remain missing.

News 10 reached out to the U.S. Coast Guard for the latest answers this week, but we are still waiting for the update. On October 13, Neale Zeringue spoke one-on-one with the family of a missing loved one.

Dylan Daspit was from Delcambre, and his family has not held a memorial yet 184 days after his presumed death. His father, Scott Daspit, said he and many other families have been waiting for the liftboat’s stern and living quarters to be raised, but he is not sure if it will ever happen now.

“I just wish we could have found someone. Just give somebody the closure,” Daspit said through tears.

Of all the families with loved one’s missing, the Daspit’s have worked the hardest to bring everyone closure. Scott Daspit and his son Garret Daspit searched barrier islands for months with volunteers. Scott had hoped if his son was not found on land, he would be found in sunken living quarters of the Seacor Power.

“At the beginning searching, there was always hope. Whereas now, it has turned into anger. Knowing that we were lied to, you know, to our face,” Daspit stated. “Hearing that they were going to parbuckle the boat from the beginning, and only to find out they pretty much dug a hole and buried it.”

Daspit said trenches dug around the liftboat to extract it were completely filled by Hurricane Ida. From three sources working in the port, he’s heard the salvage company, DONJON SMIT has moved on for now to salvaging boats damaged by Ida in coastal waterways.

Dylan Daspit is remembered by his father as a great son. “He worked hard, and he played hard. I just feel for my two grandsons. That’s the hardest part,” Daspit lamented.

Daspit is directing his anger toward reforming the oil industry that his wall shows has been in his family has been in for at least four generations. He welcomes other families to the fight.

“So much went wrong. So much went wrong, and how do you right it? All you can do is start with one thing and try to change it. That’s all you can do. You know the old saying is the loudest wheel gets greased. Maybe that’s what has to happen. Our families have to get together and start screaming, and see what kind of laws we can get passed and go from there,” Daspit encouraged.

There is much more from our interview with Scott Daspit, including things he’s never revealed he found while searching the barrier islands. Tuesday, we’ll release our full, uncut interview on our podcast, Ten Talks Acadiana, which can be found wherever you listen to podcasts or on KLFY.com.

As Daspit concluded, “It’s something that we just need to try and keep in our memory. No matter how hard it is.”