A leg failure on a liftboat near Southwest Pass, La., led to a Coast Guard rescue of the four-man crew early Wednesday morning.

The liftboat Superior Trust, operated by Houston-based oilfield services company Superior Energy, experienced the failure and made contact with a natural gas platform’s walkway, spilling about 10 gallons of oil discharge. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a call at 3:19 a.m. reporting the incident, and a 45’ response boat medium crew was dispatched from Coast Guard Station Venice at 3:36 a.m.

The Coast Guard crew arrived on scene at 4:30 a.m. and transported the lift boat crew back to the Venice station. There were no injuries, according to the Coast Guard. The 87’x19’ cutter Brant arrived at 10:41 a.m. to monitor the Superior Trust, while an MH-65 helicopter aircrew from Air Station New Orleans conducted an overflight.

Superior Energy was developing a salvage plan to recover the Superior Trust and has a pollution cleanup company on standby, Coast Guard officials said. I.G. Petroleum, L.L.C., deployed a response vessel to survey the damage to the platform and begin repairs.

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Contributing Editor Kirk Moore was a reporter for the Asbury Park Press for over 30 years before joining WorkBoat in 2015. He wrote several award-winning stories on marine, environmental, coastal and military issues that helped drive federal and state government policy changes. He has also been an editor for WorkBoat’s sister publication, National Fisherman, for over 25 years. Moore was awarded the Online News Association 2011 Knight Award for Public Service for the “Barnegat Bay Under Stress,” 2010 series that led to the New Jersey state government’s restoration plan. He lives in West Creek, N.J.