Overview
- The Prospector 5 toppled and sank while preparing to start drilling, with video showing the rig tip and crew abandoning ship at about 20:40 GMT on Saturday.
- Of the 115 people on board, one person has been confirmed dead and several others remain unaccounted for as search-and-rescue operations continue.
- Borr Drilling said a likely punch-through during preload — a phase where rig legs are loaded before jacking up — allowed a leg to penetrate the seabed and the rig to lose stability.
- Gabon’s Ministry of Petroleum and Gas activated a crisis unit that includes the navy, Gabon Oil, BW Energy and Borr Drilling, while Panoro Energy has halted production at the Dussafu Marin licence.
- No harmful discharges have been observed so far and pollution-response teams and surveillance remain deployed to protect the coastline and nearby Mayumba National Park as a formal investigation and regulatory reviews proceed.