NEW ORLEANS — The Coast Guard is searching for a missing 26-year-old Turkish crewmember approximately 230 miles south of New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday morning.
The second mate was last seen walking the deck of the Aqua, a Maltese-flagged 816-foot tanker vessel, wearing a green and brown shirt with no life jacket. He was reported missing after he did not report for his watch.
The Coast Guard is searching for the missing crewmember with an HC-144 Ocean Sentry crew from Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile, Ala., and an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla. The Aqua has also returned to the last known position the crewmember was aboard to assist in the search.
The current weather in the search area is reported to be winds of 10 mph with three-foot seas.