Injuries are mounting after the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s research ship tipping over in Scotland this week.
The 250-foot vessel – dubbed “RV Petrel” – tipped over in high winds at Imperial Reef dockyard in Leith, near Edinburgh on Wed., March 22. It is owned by Allen's estate.
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What Is the RV Petrel?
The RV Petrel was built by Brattvaag Skipsverft, Norway in 2003. The ship is used largely as a deep-sea wreck exploration vehicle and is widely known in nautical circles for discovering the World War II USS Indianapolis battleship, which suffered the highest number casualties after sinking after a mission in Guam, on July 30, 1945.
Allen purchased the vessel in 2016 and had it converted for deep-sea submergence projects.
Interviewed for the 2017 PBS documentary USS Indianapolis Live From the Deep, Allen noted "We've done a number of these explorations to try to find sunken warships. We try to do these both as really exciting examples of underwater archaeology and as tributes to the brave men [who] went down on these ships.”
The RV Petrel was in dry dock with 50 people on board when the accident occurred.
According to the UK Sun, 25 people were injured and 15 were hospitalized after the ship keeled over.
One source at the scene told The Sun “This is an extremely worrying situation. It’s been very windy since the early hours of this morning and normal operations had been put on hold until conditions eased.”
“Those injured have suffered various injuries, but as far as I am aware, non are in a life-threatening condition,” the source noted. “But everyone is very worried for the safety of those currently onboard.”
In 2018, Allen passed away at age 65 from lymphoma. His estate’s estimated net worth stands at $20 billion in 2023.
