LIBREVILLE, Gabon — An emergency search and rescue operation is underway off the coast of Gabon after the jack-up drilling rig Prospector 5, owned and operated by offshore contractor Borr Drilling, suffered a stability failure and sank into the Atlantic Ocean. Out of 115 personnel on board at the time of the disaster, 110 have been safely accounted for, while five crew members remain missing.
The accident occurred at 8:37 p.m. local time on Saturday, October 24, 2026, within the Dussafu Marine licence area offshore Gabon. The Prospector 5 was undergoing jacking and preload operations in preparation for a planned offshore drilling campaign supporting energy operator BW Energy.
Preliminary reports indicate the rig experienced a sudden "punch-through" event during preloading—a critical instability where one or more leg footings rapidly penetrate the seabed—causing the structure to lose equilibrium and subsequently submerge.
Emergency response protocols were immediately activated as specialized marine vessels and rescue teams deployed to the site.
Emergency crews successfully evacuated 110 workers from the sinking rig, while search efforts remain active and ongoing to locate the five missing personnel in coordination with local maritime authorities, emergency services, and Borr Drilling. As a precautionary measure, nearby production at BW Energy's MaBoMo facility was shut down, with no structural damage or accidental discharge of harmful substances reported from the site.
Borr Drilling and local authorities have launched an investigation to establish the exact chain of events that led to the loss of stability and sinking. The incident marks a significant setback for operations in the Dussafu license, a core component of regional energy development plans, as priority remains focused on locating the remaining crew members.
Environmental monitoring teams have also been deployed alongside maritime patrol vessels to continuously survey the surrounding waters for potential fuel or chemical leaks from the submerged rig. While no immediate spills have been detected, specialized containment booms and recovery equipment are on standby in the area to prevent ecological damage to Gabon's coastal marine ecosystem as salvage experts evaluate the feasibility of securing the underwater site.
Published by Banx Network. This article is part of the Banx decentralized media programme, powered by the BXE token on the XRP Ledger.
