Maritime Safety

Published on: August 18, 2026

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

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 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: July 28, 2026

Seaplane Crash Near Sucia Island Shows What Good Rescue Coordination Looks Like

by Nigel Stacey

On Thursday evening July 23, 2026, a Kenmore Air floatplane carrying ten passengers and a pilot went down in Shallow Bay near Sucia Island in the San Juan Islands. The aircraft made an emergency landing on the water and later caught fire. Every single person on board survived, and that outcome is a tribute to all the people who responded.

The U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy, the Canadian Coast Guard, San Juan County Sheriff’s boats, Washington State Park rangers, Airlift Northwest, and Bellingham Fire Department EMS all worked together to get eleven people off the water and to a higher level of care. However, before any official responders arrived, good Samaritans who were nearby pulled people from the wreckage, tied their boats together to make a stable platform, and started treating injuries with the first aid supplies they had on hand. That is the kind of immediate response and teamwork that is needed when it comes to saving lives on the water.

We write most often about commercial fishing crews and maritime worker safety, but this accident is a good reminder that the water off Washington and British Columbia can be remote, it is cold, and it takes time for official responders to arrive. Sucia Island is only reachable by boat or helicopter, and the agencies involved train for exactly this kind of coordinated response. If you have ever been on a boat that assisted in a rescue, or if your vessel has served as a stable platform for injured people the way these good Samaritan vessels did on Thursday, you understand that the swift actions by those in the area may very well have saved lives.

Published on: July 7, 2026

Fishing Safety Research Funding Reinstated

by Nigel Stacey

For decades, federal safety research has helped reduce the risks crews face at sea. But recently, that work was threatened when it was announced that funding would be cut and layoffs were ordered. In April, we reported on these cuts. Now that funding has been reinstated, it is worth looking at why this research matters so much to crews working in the Bering Sea and beyond, as commercial fishing remains one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States.

Last spring, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sent layoff notices to approximately 1,000 employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Among the programs affected was the Center for Maritime Safety and Health Studies (CMSHS), the research division that supports fishing vessel safety training, gear design, and injury prevention. CMSHS specifically supports high-risk maritime fields, including commercial fishing, seafood processing, aquaculture, shipyards, marine terminals, marine transportation, and commercial diving. It serves as a centralized platform bringing together industry, labor, academia, and safety experts to tackle critical occupational hazards.

The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA), along with the Fishing Communities Coalition and others in the industry, objected to these cuts. Their argument was that NIOSH funded research and training have helped bring commercial fishing fatalities down by more than 80 percent since the agency’s programs began. That reduction is significant in an industry where the fatality rate remains dozens of times higher than the average American workplace.

Published on: June 30, 2026

How Screen Time Is Becoming a New Maritime Fatigue Risk

by Nigel Stacey

We have reported before about how long shifts, overnight watches, and inadequate crew rotation can push maritime workers toward dangerous levels of exhaustion. But a newer and less obvious source of fatigue is showing up in research, and it has nothing to do with how hard someone is working. It has to do with what they are doing during the hours they should be resting.

Internet connectivity at sea has improved dramatically as low-earth-orbit satellite systems, led by Starlink Maritime, replace older geostationary satellites parked 22,000 miles up. Those older systems were slow, laggy, and often expensive as they were billed by the megabyte, so crew members had to use them sparingly. Low-earth-orbit satellites orbit just a few hundred miles up, cutting lag and adding bandwidth at a flat monthly rate. This recent technology has turned a once rationed connection into something on par with home broadband, even on smaller fishing vessels that could never have previously justified the costs.

Workers who once went weeks without contacting home can now call, text, and video chat from the middle of the ocean. Another real advantage to this new satellite technology is the ability to dependably reach help in an emergency. The trouble is that this same connectivity is creating a new and measurable safety problem: digital fatigue.

Published on: June 2, 2026

Alaska Seafood Contributes $5.2 Billion in Economic Value

by Nigel Stacey

Alaska’s seafood industry is one of the world’s most productive fisheries, and one of the most economically important in the nation. A new report released in May puts some numbers in perspective, and they’re worth understanding if you work on the water in Alaska.

The 2026 Economic Value of Alaska’s Seafood Industry report, produced by McKinley Research Group for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), uses data from the 2023 and 2024 fisheries. The industry contributed $5.2 billion in total economic value from harvest, processing, and distribution. Alaska fishermen harvested an average of 5.1 billion pounds of seafood valued at $1.5 billion at the dock. Processors turned that raw harvest into 2.4 billion pounds of finished product worth $4.2 billion, adding $2.7 billion in value before the product ever left the state.

The workforce behind those numbers is substantial. The industry directly employed 41,800 people, including more than 15,000 Alaskans from over 120 communities statewide. Total labor income generated by the seafood sector reached $1.9 billion.

Published on: May 26, 2026

What to Do If You Are Injured at Sea: The First 8 Steps

by Nigel Stacey

You already know that you work in one of the most dangerous industries in the world. When something goes wrong, the decisions you make in the first hours and days after an injury can determine whether you receive the full compensation you are entitled to or whether you walk away with far less than you deserve.

Maritime law and the Jones Act exist to protect you. Here is how to protect yourself.

Report any Accident Immediately

Published on: May 5, 2026

How to Survive an Overboard Fall for Commercial Fishermen

by Nigel Stacey

Commercial fishing remains one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States. Between 2000 and 2019, 878 commercial fishermen died from traumatic injuries on the job, an average of more than 43 deaths per year. Vessel disasters are the leading cause of death however falls overboard are second, accounting for 266 of those deaths, or 30% of all fatalities.

Of all 266 workers who died after falling overboard between 2000 and 2019, not one was wearing a Personal Flotation Device (PFD).

Why Fishermen Don’t Wear PFDs And Why That Has to Change

Published on: April 14, 2026

NOAA Budget Cuts and Fishing Safety: Your Legal Rights When Training Programs Vanish

by Nigel Stacey

Earlier this year, we reported about how proposed cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service were putting commercial fishermen in Alaska, Washington, and Oregon at greater risk by degrading marine weather forecasts. That threat has not gone away, and now a new federal budget proposal makes clear that it is deepening. This time, the target is not just forecasting. It is the safety training programs that have quietly kept Pacific Northwest and Alaska fishermen alive for decades.

The proposed federal fiscal year 2027 budget calls for a $1.6 billion cut to NOAA’s overall budget, a 32 percent reduction that would eliminate entire programs. Congress rejected an identical proposal for FY2026, but the proposed cuts keep coming. The agency has experienced significant staffing reductions due to recent layoffs and attrition. Alaska fishermen reported greater uncertainty about storm forecasts during the 2025 season, and the conditions driving that uncertainty have not improved.

What is different this year is that the scope of that threat has expanded. The proposed cuts are not limited to weather forecasting offices and buoy networks. They also target the federal programs that fund commercial fishing safety training, specifically the Commercial Fishing Safety Research and Training program and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) fishing industry programs.

Published on: April 6, 2026

Five Crew Members Rescued from Grounded Vessel Near Umnak Island

by Nigel Stacey

On April 2, 2026, the 58-foot F/V OCEAN BAY ran aground on Umnak Island’s northern shore in the Aleutians. At 4:45 a.m., the U.S. Coast Guard Arctic District Command Center in Juneau received a report that the vessel was taking on water. Watchstanders immediately coordinated a multi-asset response, dispatching an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak and diverted the Cutter WAESCHE to the scene.

A Good Samaritan vessel, F/T SEAFREEZE ALASKA, a 295-foot factory trawler, was first to arrive on the scene at approximately 5 a.m. The Hercules crew and WAESCHE reached the area about three hours later. By that time, the crew of the F/V OCEAN BAY had successfully stopped the flooding and dewatered the vessel.

The Jayhawk aircrew arrived at approximately 11:15 a.m. and hoisted all five crew members to safety, transporting them to Dutch Harbor for medical evaluation. Resolve Marine has been contracted to oversee salvage operations on the grounded vessel.