Maritime Injury Law Blog

Published on: September 9, 2026

Two Boaters Lost Near St. Lawrence Island

It is with great sadness that we report the loss of two boaters from Savoonga, Alaska, a village of about 800 people on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. Three people, including a 15-year-old, left Savoonga on an 18-foot skiff on Friday, September 4, 2026, and were expected home by 3 a.m. on Sunday, September 6, 2026. When the boat did not return, Alaska State Troopers notified the U.S. Coast Guard, but poor weather kept search aircraft grounded until Monday morning, September 7, 2026.

That afternoon, a U.S. Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules crew located the capsized skiff about four miles east of the island and found the 15-year-old clinging to the hull, showing signs of hypothermia. The aircrew dropped a life raft and survival equipment, then guided the nearby good Samaritan F/V NORTHWEST EXPLORER, to the scene with a line of flares. The other two boaters were recovered from the water. They were unresponsive and brought aboard along with the teenager for transport to Nome.

“Our hearts go out to the families, friends, and communities affected by the tragic loss of these two mariners,” said Rear Adm. Bob Little, the commander of the Arctic District. “We are grateful for the incredible efforts of the motor vessel Northwest Explorer, Federal, State, Village first responders and mission partners who assisted in the effort that resulted in a life saved.”

Published on: September 9, 2026

Back to School, Back to Sea, Safety Refresher for the Fleet

by Stacey & Jacobsen, PLLC

September brings its own version of “back to school” for Alaska’s maritime workers. Southeast salmon crews are finishing their season, Bering Sea crab boats are completing preseason registration ahead of the 2026-2027 season, and deckhands across the region are pulling gear out of storage. It is a good time for a refresher to remember the basics for keeping crew members safe when conditions turn treacherous.

This week, the U.S. Coast Guard ended a search near St. Lawrence Island after an 18-foot skiff carrying three people capsized in the Bering Sea. One teenager survived after clinging to the overturned hull for hours. Tragically, two others did not make it back. The outcome highlights something every mariner knows. In cold water, an overboard victim has very little time. At Bering Sea temperatures, a person without proper protection can lose useful hand and arm function within minutes and can succumb to hypothermia before help arrives, even when a search begins quickly.

That is exactly why immersion suits and EPIRBs are not optional gear on a commercial vessel, they are required by federal regulation for good reason. An immersion suit, when properly stowed, sized, and in good working order, can buy a person in the water hours rather than minutes. An EPIRB that is registered, tested, and mounted where it can be reached in an emergency gives searchers a starting point instead of open ocean to cover, the same kind of search area the U.S. Coast Guard faced off Gloucester, Massachusetts earlier this year when the F/V LILY JEAN was lost with her crew. Safety equipment does not help anyone if it goes unused.

Published on: September 1, 2026

Record Breaking Pink Salmon Season in Sitka Brings a Crowded Fishing Ground

by Nigel Stacey

It has been a season of extremes for Sitka purse seiners. In late July, Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G ) managers worried that it would be a poor fishing season, and then the run turned around almost overnight. On August 6, 2026, seiners in District 13 brought in 1.23 million pink salmon in a single day, breaking the previous record of roughly 950,000 fish set back in 2017. Four days later, on August 10, 2026, they broke that new record too, harvesting 1.28 million fish in a day. By August 17, 2026, the season had climbed to the seventh largest in state history, with more openings still to come.

ADF&G Sitka area management biologist Aaron Dupuis pointed to two things behind the turnaround, a genuinely strong pink salmon run, which he noted is unusual for an even year, and a real jump in fishing efforts. As pink salmon arrived late to the Ketchikan, Juneau, and Petersburg fisheries, purse seine boats shifted toward Sitka, adding an estimated 20 to 30 more vessels than average to those grounds. Better prices, with purse seined pink salmon running about 60 cents per pound, roughly double recent years, makes it easy to see why fishermen are eager to work these grounds.

A record season is welcome news for the fleet, but a sudden surge in both fish and boats can bring its own risks. More vessels working the same grounds means more congestion, more gear in the water, and more chances for close quarters incidents. A compressed, high intensity harvest window can also push crews toward long hours and little rest as they try to make the most of strong openings while they last, and that combination has long been linked to fatigue related injuries in commercial fishing.

Published on: September 1, 2026

Grounded Fishing Vessel at Point Reyes Highlights Hidden Risks Commercial Fishermen Face

by Nigel Stacey

On the morning of August 21, 2026, the F/V LAKE BAY, a 58-foot fishing vessel operating out of Smith River, California, ran aground on a sand bar at North Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore. All four crew members aboard were transported to the U.S. Coast Guard’s Station Bodega Bay after the boat entered the surf zone.

A unified command made up of the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Park Service, with support from Marin County Fire, NOAA, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response, moved quickly to secure the vessel and its fuel. The F/V LAKE BAY had a maximum capacity of 2,800 gallons of diesel, and crews ultimately removed roughly 1,400 gallons of diesel fuel along with 175 gallons of hydraulic and lubricating oil. No active fuel leaks or wildlife impacts have been reported at any point in the response. North Beach was temporarily closed to keep the public safe while crews worked.

The response has since shifted from emergency pollution control to salvage and recovery. Salvage crews spent days working to pull the vessel farther onto the beach, which was complicated by the vessel’s fiberglass hull and bow digging into the sand. According to the U.S. Coast Guard’s incident commander, once a vessel of this size runs aground, questions about its structural integrity and stability make towing it back out to sea too risky. The vessel’s catch, an estimated 30 to 50 tons of squid trapped in the hold, has added another variable to an already challenging recovery.

Published on: August 25, 2026

Crew Member Lost Overboard Near Valdez Alaska

by Nigel Stacey

It is with great sadness that we report the loss of Guy Eriksen, a 39-year-old crew member from Nevada, who went overboard from the F/V INLET SUNRISE shortly after midnight on August 23^rd, 2026. The vessel was anchored in Sawmill Bay at the time of the incident, about ten miles from Valdez Harbor.

Watchstanders at U.S. Coast Guard Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic received the call at approximately 12:07 a.m. and launched a response. The U.S. Coast Guard Station Valdez boat crew searched the area in a response boat-medium, as well as an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak, Alaska. State Troopers and approximately ten Good Samaritan vessels also responded to help. On-scene conditions were relatively mild for the region, with 5 mph winds, calm seas, and an air temperature of 49 degrees. The search lasted more than 10 hours, and was eventually suspended at 10:45 a.m. on August 23, pending further information.

Alaska Wildlife Troopers took over the search effort, requesting assistance from the Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team. That evening, at about 9 p.m., the dive team recovered Mr. Eriksen’s body from the water near where he had gone missing. He was transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy, and an investigation into his death remains ongoing.

Published on: August 18, 2026

Commercial Fisherman Survives 2.5 Hours Overboard Off Cape Cod Without a Life Jacket

by Nigel Stacey

On July 18^th, 2026, a commercial fisherman fell overboard from the F/V WESTERN EDGE approximately seven nautical miles east of Truro, Massachusetts. He survived nearly two and a half hours in the Atlantic Ocean with no Personal Flotation Device (PFD), before being rescued by a good Samaritan fishing crew and the U.S. Coast Guard.

After the F/V WESTERN EDGE reported a crew member missing, the U.S. Coast Guard issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast and launched a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Station Provincetown, an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod, and diverted the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter MELVIN BELL from a nearby patrol to assist in the search. Nearly two hours after the initial report, the crew of the F/V SEEL JR. spotted the missing fisherman in the water. A rescue swimmer was deployed, and the man was hoisted to safety and transported to a local hospital suffering from hypothermia.

This was the best possibleoutcome, and quite exceptional, considering all the variables. The F/V WESTERN EDGE crew responded immediately, and the F/V SEEL JR. was close enough to act on the marine radio broadcast. Weather conditions were not extreme, and the U.S. Coast Guard had assets nearby.

Published on: August 11, 2026

What Mariners Should Know About the Coast Guard’s New NAVITA Credentialing System

by Nigel Stacey

The U.S. Coast Guard is rolling out a new digital credentialing platform in September 2026 and if you make your living on a boat, it is worth learning about. The system is called NAVITA, and it is meant to replace the patchwork of paper forms, mailed documents, and status check phone calls that mariners have relied on for years to get and renew their Merchant Mariner Credentials and medical certificates.

The timing is not an accident. This year’s federal funding lapse forced the National Maritime Center to pause much of its work, and when it reopened in May, the agency was faced with a backlog of more than 19,000 applications, with processing times projected at eight to twelve months for some mariners. NAVITA is the U.S. Coast Guard’s answer to that backlog, along with the earlier ASAP portal that replaced the long-running HOMEPORT system after it was shut down last year.

For a lot of mariners, especially the ones fishing out of Seattle, Kodiak, and Dutch Harbor, a modernized system sounds like good news, and it may well be, eventually. Fewer lost documents and clearer status updates should be an improvement over the paper documents. But it is worth asking who this system is built for, and who it might leave behind.

Published on: August 11, 2026

What US and Norwegian Coast Guard Drills Mean for Alaskan Fleets

by Nigel Stacey

U.S. Coast Guard crew members from the Legend-class national security cutter USCGC Stone (WMSL 758) work alongside Norwegian coast guard crew members from HOPEN during joint training, off the Newport, Rhode Island coast, July 10, 2026. The training allows both crews to build familiarity, share operational expertise and improve coordinated response in Arctic conditions. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Laticia Sims)

The U.S. Coast Guard has completed a major Arctic interoperability exercise, and the coastlines involved help explain why the training matters so much to those of us on the water. Between July 8th and July 15th, 2026, crews aboard the Legend-class national security cutter USCGC STONE (WMSL 758) worked alongside the Norwegian Coast Guard Vessel HOPEN off the coast of New England and Newport, Rhode Island. The exercise, part of Operation Arctic Cohesion (OAC) 2026, focused on crew exchanges, joint underway training, and shared best practices for Arctic operations, and it was observed by partner nations Canada and Finland as part of the broader Arctic Coast Guard Forum (ACGF).

It is worth noting that Norway, of all nations, is a natural training partner. Norway’s mainland coastline runs about 15,500 miles, but if you count every fjord, inlet, and offshore skerry, the total stretches past 62,000 miles, making it one of the most fragmented coastlines on Earth. A fjord is a long, narrow, glacially carved inlet, flanked by steep cliffs, where retreating ice sheets left behind a deep U-shaped valley that seawater later filled. That terrain, cold water, narrow passages, remote landings, is not so different from the coastline that Alaska’s own commercial fishing fleets navigate every season, where the state’s more than 34,000 miles of coastline (counting islands and inlets) presents many of the same search-and-rescue and vessel-safety challenges.

Published on: August 4, 2026

Seattle Father Lost in Fall from Fishing Vessel Mast in Akutan

by Nigel Stacey

A 36-year-old Seattle man was lost last week after falling from the mast of a commercial fishing vessel moored in Akutan, one of Alaska’s busiest pollock ports.

Vincent Frank Short fell from the mast of the F/V COLUMBIA, a 131-foot pollock catcher vessel, on the evening of July 30^th, 2026, according to Alaska State Troopers. He sustained significant injuries and died shortly afterward. At the time, the F/V COLUMBIA was moored at the Trident Seafoods dock in Akutan Harbor, offloading its catch, and Short was one of only four crew members aboard. The U.S. Coast Guard has taken over the investigation, which remains ongoing.

Short is survived by his wife, Adriana, and their three children, ages 12, seven, and five. Family members describe him as a devoted father and hardworking provider and have set up a fundraiser to help cover memorial costs and support for his wife and children as they adjust to life without him.

Published on: August 3, 2026

Coast Guard Rescues Three Fishermen After Vessel Collision, Sinking Off Grays Harbor

by Nigel Stacey

A collision between two commercial fishing vessels off the Washington coast recently left one boat at the bottom of the ocean and three crew members narrowly escaping the frigid Pacific waters.

On the morning of July 21, 2026, the U.S. Coast Guard responded to a distress call roughly 22 miles off Grays Harbor. Authorities reported that the 62-foot F/V TABITHA collided with the 35-foot wooden-hulled F/V NORA J. While the F/V TABITHA escaped with minor damage, the F/V NORA J sustained severe hull breaches and immediately began taking on water.

A U.S. Coast Guard motor lifeboat crew out of Station Grays Harbor arrived shortly after the incident, and evacuated the three fishermen aboard the F/V NORA J. The F/V TABITHA stood by to assist, but despite coordinated dewatering efforts, the F/V NORA J could not be saved and sank in about 300 feet of water.