Fire Erupts Aboard Seismic Vessel Rem Andes in Gulf of Mexico

Fire Forces Abandon-Ship Aboard Survey Vessel

A fire broke out aboard the seismic survey vessel Rem Andes off Grande Isle, Louisiana, triggering an abandon-ship response, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. As reported by The Maritime Executive, the vessel had 46 people aboard when the blaze started, and crew began evacuating into life rafts before transferring to nearby Good Samaritan vessels that responded to the scene.

Coast Guard search-and-rescue aircraft were sent to confirm that everyone who left the ship was safely accounted for. AIS tracking data supplied by Pole Star Global showed the vessel slowing and drifting north of its planned survey route at around 0955 local time on Monday morning. Local media reported the fire was extinguished by roughly 1445 hours that afternoon, though efforts to recover crew from lifeboats that had already launched were still ongoing into the mid-afternoon.

Skeleton Crew Stayed to Fight the Blaze

Notably, eight crewmembers remained aboard Rem Andes after the main evacuation to continue firefighting efforts and assess damage to the vessel. The Coast Guard indicated to a local Fox affiliate that this group would be taken off the ship at a later stage once conditions allowed. Through the rest of the day, Rem Andes kept transmitting AIS signals as it drifted slowly to the northeast, eventually sitting around 90 nautical miles south of Whiskey Island, Louisiana.

About the Vessel

Rem Andes is a Norwegian-operated vessel that has been in service since 2012, built and equipped specifically for seismic survey work. AIS history shows the ship has spent at least the past year running dense survey tracklines across the deepwater U.S. continental shelf, working out of the Gulfport and Port Fourchon areas. According to the available records, the vessel passed its most recent U.S. Coast Guard port state control inspection in late 2025 without any deficiencies noted.

What This Means for Owners and Managers

This incident is a reminder that a clean port state control record offers no guarantee against a sudden shipboard emergency. Specialized vessels like seismic survey ships carry dense arrays of electronic, hydraulic, and towed-equipment systems that create unique fire risk profiles not always captured in a standard PSC inspection snapshot. For technical managers, the fact that Rem Andes had passed inspection just months before the fire underlines why periodic condition surveys and internal fire-safety audits — beyond regulatory minimums — remain valuable, particularly for vessels running specialized gear in remote offshore operating areas.

The decision to leave eight crew aboard to fight the fire and assess damage, rather than fully abandoning the vessel immediately, also highlights the operational judgment calls crews and masters must make in real time. Having a fire extinguished within a few hours, as appears to have happened here, often depends heavily on training, drill frequency, and the condition of onboard firefighting systems — all areas that a thorough condition or pre-charter survey can help verify before a vessel heads back into service.

Looking Ahead

Full details on the cause of the fire, the extent of damage to Rem Andes, and the condition of the eight crewmembers who stayed aboard have not yet been released. As is typical with incidents of this kind, further investigation by the vessel’s operator and possibly flag state authorities will likely be needed to determine the root cause and whether any equipment or procedural failures contributed to the blaze. Owners and charterers operating similar seismic or specialized survey tonnage in the Gulf of Mexico may want to review their own fire-response protocols and equipment condition in light of this event, even before any official findings are published.