Sandy Point Crewmembers Bodies Recovered After Maritime Accident

Independent salvage divers have been working for days to recover the remains of the three missing crewmembers of Omega Protein’s Sandy Point commercial fishing vessel.  Media reports this morning indicate that the bodies of 48 year-old Rhoderick Watkins of Moss Point, 65-year old Thomas L. Moore of Havelock, North Carolina, and 58 year-old Lindsey Tucker of Vancleave have all been found.

Watkins and Moore were both reportedly found in cabins of the sunken fishing boat.  Autopsies show that all three maritime crew drowned.

Their bodies were taken aboard Coast Guard vessels and draped with American flags before they were brought into Gulfport Harbor.

The Sandy Point collided with the Eurus London, a much larger container ship, last Wednesday.  The western tip of Ship Island and a portion of the Gulfport Ship Channel were closed while divers from the state Department of Marine Resources and the Coast Guard performed the two recoveries.

As the bodies were found and the news delivered to the grieving loved ones of these fishermen, officials are working to clean up thousands of menhaden fish from the hold of the sunken Sandy Point ship which have washed up on Ship Island and are floating in the Mississippi Sound.  Operations have begun to salvage the actual pogy boat itself.

The maritime lawyers of Schechter, McElwee, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P. currently represent multiple parties in a similar vessel sinking case.  We have over 47 years of experience handling tragic offshore accident cases like this one.  We know the causes of such incidents, the investigation that needs to be conducted, the evidence and experts you need to hire to prove up your case, and the safety protocols and emergency response plans that should have been in place to prevent these deaths.  If you or someone you know has questions about a fatal maritime accident or the Death on the High Seas Act, please contact us today at info@smslegal.com.