Articles Posted in Scandies Rose

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Iced-Crab-Pot-300x173The loss of the F/V SCANDIES ROSE on New Year’s Eve 2019 was the deadliest accidents since the 2017 capsizing of the F/V DESTINATION, in which all six crew members tragically died. The lawyers at Stacey and Jacobsen, PLLC understand firsthand how devastating these accidents are to those experiencing the loss of loved ones, as we represented the families and survivors in both heartbreaking cases.

These tragic sinkings and capsizing accidents are not altogether isolated. It is imperative for the safety of the industry that we better understand how ice accumulates on pot cages, netting, and the parts within each pot.

In December 2020, the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation requested that the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) study the icing factors that were involved in the loss of the F/V SCANDIES ROSE as well as the loss of the F/V DESTINATION. The U.S. Coast Guard recently released the results of this long awaited study regarding the ice accretion and ice accumulation on fishing gear. The study and experiments specifically focused on ice accretion and ice accumulation on the crab and cod pots used in the icy waters of the Alaskan Bering Sea.

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Alaska-Iceberg1200x600STACEY & JACOBSEN, PLLC represents the two survivors in the SCANDIES ROSE sinking. The vessel owner (Scandies Rose Fishing Co., LLC) and the vessel manager (Mattsen Management LLC) have filed a Petition for Limitation of Liability in Federal Court Seattle. The vessel owner and manager initiated legal action arguing that they have no responsibility for the deaths of the crew and injuries to the survivors. As we understand the position of the owner and manager, they claim that they had no knowledge of the bad weather that was forecast for New Year’s Eve. The vessel owner and manager are taking this position even though a majority of the Kodiak fleet stayed at the dock that day due to bad weather. SCANDIES ROSE and Mattsen Management, however, claim that SCANDIES ROSE is a larger boat and did not need to heed the weather that was forecast for that day. Obviously, they were mistaken.

This Federal Court proceeding compelled the families and survivors to Answer the Petition and bring their own claims. Four of the five families of the decedents and the two survivors filed their legal pleadings, as required, before May 28, 2020. The captain was one of the owners of the vessel and his family did not file a claim. The parties will meet soon to work out a discovery plan and propose court dates. It is estimated that a trial date will be set sometime in mid-2021. Recently, the survivors filed Sworn Affidavits in a probate court in order to help the families obtain death certificates. The Affidavits contain chilling details of events that occurred in the final moments.

The survivors report that they were awakened when SCANDIES ROSE took a serious list to starboard. The entire crew ran up to the wheelhouse. Captain Cobban confirmed that the vessel had a serious list and that the vessel was sinking. He ordered everyone to get their survival suits on as the vessel continued the roll to starboard. At some point, before the survivors got out, the vessel was nearly on her starboard side. The crew struggled to put on their survival suits because the vessel was listing at such a sharp angle. Water began flowing into the starboard side (which basically had become the floor). The survivors report that they were able to climb up and out of the wheelhouse through the port side door. They were able to stand on the port side hull and called back for the other crew to get out. At that time, all the lights went out, and almost immediately, a wave knocked the survivors off the hull and into the sea. The two survivors were able to locate a life raft and climb aboard. They floated approximately five hours before being rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard. They never saw their fellow crewmembers again after they got washed off the hull.

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