A forensic investigation has begun into the disappearance of an officer from a Teekay suezmax.
The shipowner has confirmed to TradeWinds that junior third officer Cristito "Cris" Acosta, a Filipino national, is not on board the vessel, despite his family's fears he may have been held on the tanker against his will.
Acosta went missing from the 159,000-dwt, Bahamas-flagged, suezmax Jiaolong Spirit (built 2009) on 23 April, 155 nautical miles (287 km) off the Dominican Republic.
He was two months into a six-month contract on the ship, having joined Teekay as a deck cadet in 2017.
The ship is owned by Teekay Corp spin-off Teekay Tankers and managed by group company Teekay Marine Services.
His mother, Felicidad Acosta, said: "We are in deep anxiety and it pains us to think what could have happened to him. We cannot afford to lose this precious soul and we still believe he is alive out there."
The family began a social-media campaign to put pressure on relevant authorities to investigate the case.
Mysterious injuries
The family then contacted UK charity Human Rights at Sea (HRAS) to seek further publicity for the unexplained circumstances of his disappearance.
Acosta had posted a photo to Facebook on 10 April showing injuries to his face. He did not say how he came by these and it was not known if they were related to his disappearance.
The officer was last seen leaving the bridge at 18:45 local time and he was due back on watch at 20:00 hours.
But he did not show up and was not found in his cabin.
A sea search found nothing after three days.
Full investigation to begin
The ship has now berthed in South Africa, where an investigation has begun.
After the sea search was called off, Teekay immediately instructed Stann Marine of London to conduct a full independent probe, which has been ongoing since that time.
"This is mandated by Teekay standard operating procedures, which require a full independent investigation to be conducted in the event of any serious incident," the company said. "A thorough search of the vessel by the third-party investigator has confirmed that he is not on board the vessel."
HRAS has been in direct contact at chief executive-level with Teekay in Vancouver.
"The charity rightly gave Teekay a right of reply to the report and is pleased to have been constructively engaged with," HRAS said.
Teekay called the matter hugely sad for the company.
"We deeply sympathise with Mr Acosta’s family,” the tanker giant said.
Teekay added that it has invited the flag state and the Philippines Embassy to send a representative to join the investigation.
Difficult for family to travel
"From the outset, we have been in close contact with Mr Acosta’s family," it said.
The president of its operation in the Philippines has travelled to meet them, the shipowner added.
“We have also put the family in touch with our appointed investigators so that their concerns can be heard and understood," it said.
"We do understand the family’s desire to attend the vessel themselves to search for Mr Acosta. We have not refused this request but, given the travel restrictions in place in both the Philippines and in the country where the vessel is headed, we are not sure how the family anticipate attendance."
HRAS said there is a clear requirement for a thorough and transparent independent investigation into the circumstances of "this tragic matter".
"A professional seafarer simply does not go missing from a well-run crude oil tanker for no apparent reason," it said. "There are questions to be asked and lines of investigation to be followed, whatever the outcome."
HRAS chief executive David Hammond said: "We are aware of the start of an investigation correctly instigated by Teekay, and we trust that the eventual findings will be made public with minimal redaction, both for the family’s sake and in the public interest. We have also raised the issue of transparency with Teekay and fairly acknowledge their swift engagement."
