Pete Phillip’s family awaits closure: This is worse than our covid experience

The family of missing offshore worker Pete Phillip is still searching for closure nearly four months after his disappearance at sea—an ordeal his brother Elvis Phillip says is more devastating than what they endured during the height of the covid pandemic.

“It is worse than what we went through during the pandemic,” Elvis told Newsday by phone on April 14.

“We lost our father and sister in 2021. My sister died from sepsis and, shortly after, our father died from covid. The whole household had covid. My mother and I could not attend his funeral.”

Phillip spoke on behalf of the family.

Pete, of La Romaine, went missing in the early hours of December 22, 2024, after Rig 110, operated by his employer Well Services Petroleum Company Ltd, partially collapsed.

In January, Pete’s body had been located. However, Well Services said it had engaged a third-party company to assist in recovery efforts using specialised equipment.

The family does not know how long it has to wait before the remains are retrieved. Considering the length of time at sea, the family does not expect a body.

He added that the long wait has taken a serious emotional toll on their mother, Patricia Phillip, and the entire family.

“Our mother is not 100 per cent. She is out of it, but okay. She cries every day. I have never seen her like this before – drawn down, broken. You can see she is taking it on. She is grieving. We are grieving,” he said.

“This is ridiculous,” Elvis said. “If there had been proper health and safety measures in place, my brother might still be alive today. He had experience on the job.”

On February 23, Pete’s widow, Candacy Phillip, gave birth to their fifth child at the San Fernando General Hospital.

At the time of Pete’s disappearance, Candacy was pregnant and two of their sons – 12 and 13 – were preparing to sit the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exams.

On April 10, they sat the exams, signalling the transition from primary to secondary school.

One brother hopes to pass for St Benedict’s College in La Romaine and the other for San Fernando Central Secondary School.

On February 3, Energy and Energy Industries Minister, Prime Minister Stuart Young said the ministry was working with both Well Services and Heritage Petroleum to support recovery efforts.

Calls to Well Services and the ministry for an update went unanswered.