HERE IS AN OLD statement from the Company?.Regards,CaptD.
Posted by: CuriousJ Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 6:24:13 PM
In reply to: None Post # of 2788
To All Concerned:
For the past week or two there have been some misleading and confusing posts on this site regarding the status of our research vessel, R/V BEACON. Understandably, you have questions and I would like to take this opportunity to clarify this recent situation with the facts, and not speculation or rumors. At the present time I am in Alabama, meeting with our Shipping Agent, US Customs and Border Control Agents and various other authorities to determine what the status and condition of the BEACON is after she was removed from port, dry-docked, vandalized and abandoned by the Capt and Co-Capt.
RSOPS/ORRV was not aware of these events until after the fact, and at that time our management team IMMEDIATELY traveled to Bayou LaBatre to assess the situation and “clean up the mess” created by wreckless individuals no longer associated with RSOPS/ORRV. We had no idea the extent of damage and vandalism that had occurred in our absence until we arrived on board, and to say the least, we were appalled.
All of the major equipment had been removed from the ship and hidden in various locations throughout Southern Alabama. These items as well as the blowers and Boston Whaler were only returned after US Customs threatened to arrest those involved.
As you can see from the pictures below, the blowers are now back with the ship. They were on the deck after its return from Ecuador, but were taken off by the Capt and Co-Capt in direct violation of the orders from authorities to not remove ANYTHING from the ship until she cleared customs. They have since been returned and are now lying beside her in the shipyard in Bayou LaBatre, AL. We have also confirmed after inspecting the ship ourselves, that the major equipment is back on board with the exception of the items listed below.
The following pictures are also very telling as to the extent of the damage she has incurred while in the charge of the Capt and Co-Capt.
1) The computer room has been ransacked and the computer system is missing and as of this time has yet to be recovered (see below).
2) The condition of the back deck of the BEACON can be liked to a garbage dump. The area where the blowers once were is now covered in garbage, and misc. debris strewn all over the place (see below).
3) The Boston Whaler has since been returned to the deck of the BEACON, but the motor housing is now damaged (see below).
4) There are other various items still missing from the BEACON:
A) The locked medicine cabinet from the wheel house. This cabinet contained various narcotics for emergency situations at sea such as morphine, epinephrine, etc. The BEACON obtained these medications legally before she sailed to Ecuador over 1 yr ago. As you can see from the picture, the cabinet was removed from the wall. The only person who had access (the only key) to this was the Capt. This is a very serious matter and we have notified the proper authorities.
B) There is a high-definition still-camera as well as a high-def video camera and other electronic equipment missing.
The computer room before….
And now…
The back deck of the R/V BEACON before.
And now…
The damaged Boston Whaler motor housing
Wall where medicine cabinet was located.
Blowers on the ground next to BEACON
The top deck of the BEACON
There are pending legal actions involved in this matter, so for that reason I cannot comment any further at this time. I will continue to update as I am legally allowed.
We fully anticipate having this current situation rectified in the very near future.
Scott Heimdal
President, RS Operations
AI
