Articles Posted in Missing Crewmembers/persons

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Bristol-Bay-300x199It is with great sadness that we report that the search for missing crewmember John Phillips, 59, of Juneau, Alaska, has been suspended. Phillips was reported missing after the F/V PACIFIC KNIGHT capsized and sank near Clark’s Point in Bristol Bay on Wednesday, July 25th.

Two other crewmembers were rescued from the water by good Samaritan vessel Amanda C, then transferred to Alaska State Troopers. Authorities continue to search for the missing crewmember and investigate the cause of the accident. It is unknown if Phillips was wearing a PFD.

“Ending a search is never easy, especially when working alongside so many people dedicated to finding the missing person,” said Coast Guard Lt. Stephan Nolan, the District 17 command duty officer, in a press release. “Our condolences go out to this man’s family and friends during this time of hardship.”

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USCG_C130_Hercules-300x200The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended the search for a fisherman who fell overboard in Ugashik Bay, 190 miles west of Kodiak, Alaska.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard 17th District Command Center received an urgent marine information broadcast on Thursday, July 19th at approximately 4:27p.m. from the F/V CAPE GREIG, that a crewmember had fallen overboard. An Air Station Kodiak Jayhawk aircrew was immediately dispatched to conduct a search in addition to a Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak HC-130 Hercules aircraft, which was diverted to the scene.

Nine good Samaritan vessels joined the search and covered over 13-square miles along the shoreline of Ugashik Bay as well as upriver, in an effort to locate the missing fisherman.

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https://www.maritimeinjurylawyersblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/155/2018/02/U.S.-Coast-Guard-Helicopter.jpgThe U.S. Coast Guard has suspended the search for a 22-year-old crewman who was reported missing and presumed overboard, after an extensive search.

The Motor Vessel Challenge Prelude was about 110 miles south of Sand Point, Alaska when the call to command center watchstanders came in. At 2:20p.m. on Sunday, March 25th, it was reported that the crewmember had been missing since approximately 1:30p.m.

An emergency signal was announced aboard the oil tanker Challenge Prelude, and a full search of the vessel was conducted. The ship’s master took the vessel back to the location where the crewman had last been seen, and an inventory of all lifesaving and survival equipment was performed. All equipment was accounted for.

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A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Research Vessel has just located the wreck of the missing F/V DESTINATION that sank in the Bering Sea this past February. The vessel and its six crew members were tragically lost in the capsize.

On the cold morning of Saturday, February 11, 2017, crew aboard the F/V DESTINATION was traveling to the fishing grounds and was just off St. George Island in the Pribilofs of the Bering Sea. Events that followed before the vessel ultimately sank are being investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The crew did not have time to send a May Day—only an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon signal was set off by F/V DESTINATION crew. This allowed immediate responders to reach the destination, but only buoys, a life ring and other debris were found at the site.

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FV-Destination-1-2It is with great sadness that we report the suspension of the search for the six missing crew members of the F/V DESTINATION. The vessel is believed to have sunk on Saturday, February 11th in the Bering Sea. Weather at the time was reported as 30-mph winds with five to eight-foot seas and snowing. The air temperature was 21 degrees and sea temperature was 3o degrees.

The Coast Guard reported that the search covered more than 5,730 square nautical miles, and included 21 coordinated searches with a total of 69 aircraft and surface hours.

Watchstanders from the 17th District reported that an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) alert was received from the F/V DESTINATION early Saturday morning, and that Kodiak aircrews were deployed to initiate the search.

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FV-Destination-1-2-300x169The search in the Bering Sea continues for the 98’ F/V DESTINATION and six crewmembers, whose emergency beacon broadcast a signal at 7:15 am, February 11 from two miles northwest of St. George, Alaska. The Coast Guard’s Hercules airplane crew arrived at 10:15 am to begin searching, and two helicopters crews are also assisting. Two Good Samaritan fishing vessels, SILVER SPRAY AND BERING ROSE, also assisted with the search.

The emergency beacon, or electronic position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB), was found in a debris field with buoys, a life ring from the DESTINATION, tarps, and an oil sheen.

Residents in St. George are patrolling the shoreline for any signs of the crew or boat. St. George is a small Pribilof Island with a population of approximately 100.

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exitoTwo of five crewmembers are still missing after the 117’ EXITO sank 14 miles northeast of Dutch Harbor, Alaska on Tuesday evening, December 6.

The owner of the EXITO called the Anchorage Coast Guard around 9:40 pm to report that the ship was taking on water and the crew was preparing to abandon ship. A Kodiak Jayhawk helicopter aircrew and four Good Samaritan ships in the area responded, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Meredith Manning.

“One of the Good Samaritan vessels, the AFOGNAK STRAIT, located three EXITO crew members and took them aboard their vessel,” Manning said. “The three had abandoned ship together, and the other two were preparing to abandon ship.” The AFOGNAK STRAIT crew rushed the three to Dutch Harbor. The rescued crewmembers reported that one of the missing EXITO crew had put on an immersion suit and was last seen preparing to abandon ship.

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The 45′ fishing vessel NO LIMITS, based out of Cushing, Maine, sent out a radio beacon distress signal off of Matinicus Island, Maine the afternoon of November 1, 2014. When the NO LIMITS crew did not answer the Coast Guard’s many response calls, the Boston, Massachusetts and Portland, Maine Command Centers coordinated a wide-scale, multi-agency rescue effort.

The Coast Guard newsroom reported that crew in a Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod spotted a flare fired from one survivor inside a life raft. They safely hoisted him aboard and flew to Maine Medical Hospital in Portland. According to WMTW 8 TV in Maine, the survivor is the boat’s captain, Chris Hutchinson, who has been released from the hospital.

The Coast Guard and Maine Marine Patrol searched for the remaining two crewmembers for more than 17 hours, covering 130 nautical square miles. Weather conditions included high winds, freezing spray and the first winter storm of the season. There were no signs of the two missing fishermen, and the search was suspended Sunday, November 2 pending further developments.

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On noon Saturday, May 18, the crew of M/V MAERSK KURE discovered an overturned hull of a sailing yacht about 1,000 miles east of the U.S. northeast coast. That’s where the last beacon from CHEEKI RAFIKI had been noted. Because of 15-foot seas and winds of over 50 knots, the MAERSK KURE crew was not able to get close enough to confirm the hull as that of CHEEKI RAFIKI. However, the container ship remained in the area until Sunday night in hope of finding survivors before having to sail on.

The first sign of distress had come at 12:30 a.m., May 16, with the activation of two EPIRBs and word that CHEEKI RAFIKI was taking on water in foul weather. The initial search by U.S., Canadian, and other nation’s assets for the yacht initiated from that time and continued until 5:00 a.m., May 19, covering over 4,000 square miles by sea and by air, in hopes that the crew had found safety in their life raft. That search was called off because it had more than twice surpassed the 20 hours that survival models indicated for such weather conditions.

CHEEKI RAFIKI, a Beneteau 40.7, was en route to the U.K. from the Caribbean at the time of her distress. Her crew are said to be Paul Goslin, 56; Steve Warren, 52; James Male, 23; and Andrew Bridge, 21, all experienced sailors from the south of England.

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Last week the F/V RANDI capsized near the entrance to Coos Bay. Three men were aboard the boat, which was reportedly loaded with gear in anticipation of the opening of the dungeness crab season. Jim Peterson of Coos Bay was reportedly in the wheel house of the vessel when the capsizing occurred. Two other deckhands were saved, but Peterson was not found. The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the accident. The Washington and Oregon dungeness crab fishery remains one of the most deadly and dangerous fisheries in the world.