Photo: Fair Transport

The cargo schooner De Gallant capsized and sank early Tuesday morning 22 nautical miles north of the Bahamas island of Great Inagua with eight sailors on board. So far, six people have been rescued from a life raft with two female crew members still missing. Rescue operations by the US Coast Guard are ongoing.

A statement by the Blue Schooner Company, the owner of De Gallant said that rescue operations carried out by the Regional Operational Surveillance and Rescue Center (CROSS) in Miami, in conjunction with CROSS Gris-Nez, reported yesterday at 2:59 p.m. UTC or 10:59 a.m. local time the helicopter rescue of six of the eight crew.

The Coast Guard found a life jacket six nautical miles away from the scene of the accident. Two helicopters, an airplane and a US Coast Guard ship as well as a patrol vessel from the Bahamas are involved in the search. The chances of finding the two missing crew are considered high. Visibility on site is currently good, wind and swell are mostly moderate and the water temperature is 27 degrees Celsius.

The two crew members currently being searched for are professional sailors trained and trained in sea survival and rescue techniques.

Float Magazine reports that during the night strong thunderstorms moved over the Bahamas. So far, reports suggest that extreme winds suddenly and unexpectedly arose, causing the ship to capsize.

The transport schooner De Gallant left Santa Marta in Colombia on May 11 with a cargo of coffee, cocoa, and cane sugar intended for various European shippers.

The Blue Schooner Company project, which has owned the schooner since 2017,  is led by Guillaume Roche and Jeff Lebleu.  De Gallant was built in Vlaardingen (Netherlands) at the Figee brother’s yard and launched in 1916. She was originally a herring fishing boat but had several careers, including as a coaster and a sail training vessel.

De Gallant had a hull length of 27.20 m, a sail area of 415 m², and a displacement of 160 tons. The schooner was registered in Vanuatu.

Thanks to Robert Kennedy for contributing to this post.