Articles Posted in Vessel Sinkings

The Coast Guard has reported that it has rescued six people from a recreational vessel that capsized in the Gulf of Mexico. Acoording to Coast Guard reports, the body of a seventh person was located in the pilot house of the vessel and turned over to authorities for identification and notification to next of kin.

The Coast Guard stated that it received a report at 3:30 p.m. from the captain of the vessel the FIGHTING CHICKEN, a 21 foot offshore supply vessel, that the recreational vessel had capsized. The Coast Guard immediately dispatched the 87 foot cutter COHO, an MH-65C Dolphin rescue helicopter, and an HC-144 Ocean Sentry rescue plane to assist in a search and rescue.

The FIGHTING CHICKEN rescued four of the people and turned them over to the COHO. The Coast Guard Helicopter rescued two additional people found on a nearby oil rig. The condition of the survivors is unknown.

Three fishermen were saved by the United States Coast Guard after their vessel capsized three miles southeast of Hilo. The fishermen were, luckily, able to retrieve a working cell phone from the vessel and hail a distress call to 911 around 1 a.m. on Wednesday July 15th. Two Coast Guard air crews were immediately dispatched to the location. By the time the fishermen were found, they had drifted 12 miles south of Hilo. All three were safely retrieved and transferred to a Hawaii county emergency medical service team, where they were reported to be in good condition. Charles Turner, a Coast Guard search and rescue coordinator, revealed how lucky it was to reach them via cell phone. “It [the cell phone] probably saved their lives… this case could have turned out a lot worse.”
The maritime lawyers at Beard Stacey Trueb and Jacobsen represent injured mariners throughout the nation in claims involving the Jones Act and General Maritime Law. For any questions regarding maritime law or injuries sustained while working aboard a vessel, contact us at 206.282.3100 or visit our website at atsealawyer.com.

Four crewmen from the ICY MIST have been rescued from their sinking vessel by the United States Coast Guard. The ICY MIST reportedly began taking on water early Wednesday morning, and issued a Mayday call that was relayed to the Coast Guard by other nearby fishing vessels. The ICY MIST went aground on the western shore of Akutan Island. Weather conditions were severe with winds reaching up to 120 mph. A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk rescued the crewmen, who were able to make it ashore and climb shore-side cliffs so the Coast Guard helicopter could safely hoist them up. Reported rescued from the vessel are: Dan Oliver; Clint Packer; Kevin Fisner; and Terry Meyer. There was no reported known cause of the vessel distress, and the Coast Guard will be investigating the cause of the accident.

The Pacific Glacier, home ported in Seattle, made it back to Dutch Harbor under it’s own power after a fire threatened to destroy it in the Bering Sea.

On February 26th the Pacific Glacier caught fire at sea. First mate, Odd Rotset, summoned fire crews aboard the vessel, who were immediately sent to the area where the alarm indicated. Ships in the area were also notified of the situation taking place onboard. Those crewmen not trained in fire control immediately donned survival suits, and were the first ones evacuated from the vessel.

Within 45 minutes of the fire alarm it became obvious that progress was not being made with the fire. First mate Rotset then contacted the Coast Guard who diverted USCG Cutter Alex Haley to the fire, but it would not arrive for another five hours. Fortunately for the Pacific Glacier, there were more than a dozen ships in the area waiting to help, and they began by evacuating the 90 crew who were not trained to fight fires. Additionally, they provided firefighters and equipment. Without this help, the Pacific Glacier would have quickly used up the breathing equipment they had onboard, greatly falling short of the time they needed to get the fire under control. Without the additional equipment and firefighters, the vessel surely would have been a complete loss.

Mike Dunne and Vern McGee are missing, along with the vessel “Transition.” On February 22, 2008 the Coast Guard was notified, and a 6-day search began that covered 6700 square miles of water and shoreline. On the 27th, a door from the Transition was found on Frederick Sound on Kupreanof Island.

Mike and Vern were on their way from Juneau to Ketchikan at the time of the incident. The search was officially called off on February 28th, 2008.

Source: USGC Press Release

Wednesday, January 23, 2008 the tugboat Joe Foss sunk in 210 feet of water off the Oregon Coast near Tillamook. All three crew members were rescued by a nearby fishing vessel, the Kilchis, before the Coast Guard transferred them to their station in Tillamook Bay. The tug was believed to be carrying 1300 gallons of fuel when it went down.

A day or two earlier the Joe Foss began taking on water near Neah Bay, Washington and was escorted by the Coast Guard into La Push, WA for repairs.

Source: USCG

January 21, 2008 the 69-foot fishing boat, Haeshin, hit a jetty near Westport, WA and sank into the channel. All three crew members were rescued before the vessel went under in 30 feet of water.

The Haeshin reportedly had 540 gallons of diesel aboard when it sank. Crews were unable to remove the fuel at the time due to conditions. Sonar was later used to try and locate the sunken boat, as it appeared to have drifted from it’s known location. The vessel has not yet been found, and no signs of a diesel spill have been reported.

Source: USCG

January 25, 2008 Coast Guard investigators announced that the Lady of Grace capsized and sank on January 26, 2007 likely because of excessive ice buildup on the rigging, making it top heavy.

The Lady of Grace was approximately 12 miles out from Hyannis, Mass when it sank, losing all four New Bedford fishermen aboard. No one saw the sinking or had radio contact with the Lady of Grace at the time of the incident, but vessels in the area at the time provided weather conditions to assist in reconstruction of the incident.

194 commercial fishing vessels have been lost in the Northeast due to capsizing or sinking in the past 15 years, with two of them believed to have been due to icing.

Monday, November 26th, 2007: Lady Blackie, a 90 foot fishing vessel, began taking on water at about 4:45 am in Wide Bay in Shelikof Strait. An EPIRB signal alerted the Coast Guard, who was able to make contact with the boat and learned that the vessel was taking on water and the crew could not access the pumps.

The three men and one woman donned survival suits and boarded the life raft with their dog, Tusk, an additional EPIRB, strobe lights, and a parachute flare. They were located about 30 minutes later by the Coast Guard, in good condition, and were praised for doing all the right things to be found quickly and safely.

On October 21, 2007 off of Coney Island, New York a 24-foot fishing boat collided with a barge. Two men were killed and two were injured when the fishing boat overturned. Police divers pulled one of the survivors from under the boat and the other was rescued by a passing fishing vessel. A third man was pronounced dead at the scene while the fourth man died later. The Coast Guard is investigating.