Tag Archives: Joint Rescue Coordination Centre
May deaths of two New Brunswick fishermen prompt advisory letter from TSB
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has issued a warning to three government bodies about overloading fishing boats, in response to the deaths of two New Brunswick lobster fishermen earlier this year. Fifty-eight-year-old Eugene Beaudin and his 33-year-old great-nephew, Normand Beaudin, fell off their fishing boat and died in the water off Miscou Island, N.B., on May 6. In the Oct. 30 letter to Transport Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and WorkSafeNB, the safety board’s director of marine investigations, Clifford Harvey, wrote that the vessel Tracy Dawn left the harbour loaded with 119 traps and encountered rough weather. Harvey says the fishers fell overboard trying to drop traps into the water. >>click to read<< 18:50
‘It’s so sad’: Acadian Peninsula mourns deaths of 2 lobster fishermen
New Brunswick’s Acadian Peninsula is in mourning after two local fishermen died Saturday on the first day of the lobster season in the area. The fishermen died after falling overboard in the waters off Miscou Island. Radio-Canada confirmed the names of the two men Sunday. They are 58-year-old Eugene Beaudin and his nephew, 23-year-old Normand Beaudin. Both men are from Miscou. Gilles Hebert, a former fisherman of 22 years, said the deaths will hit the community hard. “It’s so sad,” he said Sunday. “We’re all people who know each other. When we hear that someone drowned, we’re all touched by that.” >click to read< 19:43
Two fishermen are dead after fall from fishing boat off coast of Lamèque, N.B.
Two men have died after falling from a fishing boat off the coast of Lamèque, N.B., on Saturday, police say. According to a release, members of the RCMP were called at about 8:30 a.m. on Saturday to assist Ambulance New Brunswick and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in locating the two men. “A 58-year-old man was located shortly thereafter and died at the scene as a result of his injuries.” RCMP said. “After a short search, a 33-year-old man was also located deceased.” The release from the Northeast District RCMP said a helicopter, two airplanes, three boats, and several local fishing boats assisted in the search and rescue efforts. >click to read<
Two men deceased following search and rescue efforts – RCMP Press release, >click to read<
New Brunswick: 2 fishermen pulled from water after lobster boat capsizes with three onboard
A fisherman who had been reported missing has been located after a lobster boat capsized off the coast off Miscou Island on New Brunswick’s Acadian Peninsula. Lt.-Cmdr. Len Hickey, public affairs officer at the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, said the missing fisherman had been located, but was “unresponsive.” Another fisherman fell overboard, but was recovered shortly after, also “unresponsive.” Hickey wouldn’t comment further on the condition of the two men. A third individual was also on board the boat, but never went overboard. >click to read< 13:02
Calls for change continue 1 year after fishermen die off Labrador coast
It’s been one year since fishermen Marc Russell and Joey Jenkins left the wharf in Mary’s Harbour to gather their nets for the last time. The two fishermen died off the southern coast of Labrador on Sept. 17 of last year. Their fishing vessel, the Island Lady, was last seen in the afternoon. No distress calls were received. “It can’t just be an anniversary, briefly. Something more needs to come out of it. No other family should have to grieve like this,” said Niki Greeley, a Lodge Bay resident and Jenkins’s common-law partner. The search on Sept. 17 last year started after Russell’s father noticed his son wasn’t on social media as usual that Friday night. His father called around and found out the boat wasn’t back at the wharf. >click to read< 08:24
F/V Mucktown Girl: TSB weighing what steps they will take next, including opening an investigation
The F/V Mucktown Girl halibut boat went down off the coast of Canso, N.S., on Sunday. Four of its five crew members were rescued by the Canadian Coast Guard, but the fifth man fell off a life raft as the crew was being transferred to a coast guard vessel around 6:30 a.m. Sunday. The fisherman, Jeremy Hart of Windsor Junction, N.S., was eventually pulled out after spending five hours in the ocean but died in a hospital on Sunday. Board spokesperson Chris Krepski said Tuesday the TSB has been notified of the situation and is assessing what the next steps will be. >click to read< 22:17
Sister confirms death of fisherman who spent five hours in waters off eastern Nova Scotia
A commercial fisherman who was lifted from the ocean after spending five hours in frigid waters off eastern Nova Scotia has died, a family member confirmed Monday. In an interview, Alana Lewis said her brother, 35-year-old Jeremy Hart of Windsor Junction, N.S., died at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday after being found by a rescue team. “When they found him he was unresponsive, but at that point they still had hope that they could save him,” Lewis said. “But they were unable to get his core temperature back up and he passed away.” She said an autopsy was being conducted Monday, adding that Hart had only joined the crew of the halibut fishing vessel F/V Mucktown Girl last Thursday. >click to read< 15:14
Missing fisherman found off Nova Scotia coast – Fishing vessel was being towed by the Coast Guard
A fisherman who went missing in the waters off Canso, N.S., has been found. The crew member had fallen off a life raft Sunday morning as a crew of five was being transferred to a coast guard vessel. The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre said on Twitter just after 2 p.m. AT that a search and rescue crew aboard a Cormorant helicopter found the missing fisherman and transported him to Sydney, N.S., for medical care. The crew members from the vessel were all wearing immersion suits, the centre said in an earlier tweet. The Canadian Coast Guard said the Mucktown Girl is a 15-metre longliner,,, >click to read< 15:02
‘Definitely the most difficult rescue I have been on’ recalls a rescuer of F/V Atlantic Destiny crew
Daniel Domonkos will always remember the moment he and his SAR tech crew first laid eyes on the ill-fated F/V Atlantic Destiny a year ago. Seeing the stricken vessel being tossed around in the waves “like a little toy,” the flight engineer immediately wondered, “How are we supposed to get anyone off that boat?” And not just one person, but 31 of them. It was a miraculous scene that later played out at the Yarmouth International Airport as crew members of the Atlantic Destiny and their rescuers stepped out of helicopters to safety, the warmth of those moments only interrupted by the bone-chilling bitter cold. Photos, Video, >click to read< 08:08
F/V Villa De Pitano: ‘Please keep looking’, families beg as hunt for Spanish shipwreck crew ends
“We have to keep looking for the bodies, we can’t leave 12 people stranded in the sea,” said John Okutu, uncle of Edemon Okutu, one of the crew members from Ghana who is among the missing. “If Canada can’t keep on looking, the Spanish must go, that’s what the families want,” he told journalists in Marín in the northwestern region of Galicia where the vessel was based. Standing at his side, Kevin Franco, the son of Regelio Franco, one of the missing Peruvians, agreed. >click to read< 09:15
Newfoundland: Search suspended for missing crew members of F/V Villa De Pitano
After a 36-hour search of the frigid North Atlantic waters, the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre and the Canadian Armed Forces have suspended their search for the missing crew members who were onboard the sunken Spanish fishing vessel. “This is the end of an active search,” said Lt.-Cmdr. Brian Owens, a spokesman for the Halifax Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre via Zoom. “All vessels, all aircraft that were participating in this search and rescue have been returned to home base. The 24-member crew included 16 members from Spain, five from Peru, and three from Ghan. They were fishing in international waters, some 460 kilometres east of St. John’s, N.L. >click to read< 19:01
Mourning in Galicia following the loss of a trawler off Newfoundland: ten dead and eleven missing
The Xunta of Galicia, the government of the northeast of Spain will declare a day of mourning in the region following the sinking of the trawler F/V Villa de Pitanxo off Newfoundland, with the loss of ten lives and another eleven who remain missing. The tragedy occurred on Tuesday in the midst of a North Atlantic storm, and despite a huge rescue effort only three out of 24 crew members managed to survive under hypothermal conditions. Search operations are ongoing. Marine resources include three fishing vessels, an offshore supply ship, a coast guard vessel, and a Canadian navy frigate. Air resources include three helicopters rotating in and out depending on crew and fuel needs, two Hercules aircraft, and one PAL aircraft. >click to read< 07:59
Search continues off N.L. coast for 11 missing crew members of Spanish fishing vessel – Lt.-Cmdr. Brian Owens of the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax told CBC News on Wednesday morning the search and rescue effort is ongoing. >click to read<12:46
In Labrador, desperate pleas for search and rescue resources still unanswered
Dwight Russell can’t forget the apologetic words from one of the RCMP officers who came to his door on a Sunday evening in September. “We just don’t have the adequate resources to be able to do this,”,,, Mr. Russell’s son Marc Russell and his crewmate Joey Jenkins had been missing for two days after their boat failed to return to the wharf in Mary’s Harbour, a fishing community of about 350 people in southern Labrador. In this corner of Newfoundland and Labrador, where fishing is a lifeblood for many, the pair weren’t just missing fishermen, they were “Marc” and “Joey.” >click to read<, other related posts, >click here< 09:08
Search expands for missing Labrador fishermen, family and friends hold out hope
The search for Marc Russell and Joey Jenkins of Mary’s Harbour is now in its fifth day, with a large dive team from the RCMP’s underwater recovery team and Deer Lake ground search and rescue en route to the community Wednesday afternoon. The Ocean Seeker, a vessel equipped with advanced underwater imaging and owned by Kraken Robotics, has also been greenlighted to join the search and is on its way. “We were very proud yesterday after asking RCMP to to look into that asset, and last night it came true and they should be here tomorrow,” said Dwight Russell, Marc Russell’s father. >click to read< 15:55
Search resumes for missing Mary’s Harbour fishermen with Canadian Armed Forces, Coast Guard
The search for two missing fishermen from Mary’s Harbour has resumed with the help of the Canadian Armed Forces and the coast guard Monday, after the official search off the coast of southern Labrador was called off Sunday night. The JRCC tweeted around 9 p.m. Sunday that it had suspended the search for the Island Lady,,, Dwight Russell told CBC News on Monday morning his family was told the news around 7 p.m Sunday. After that call, he and his family pressed federal departments like the office of the prime minister, he said, and had been promised the search would resume. But come Monday morning and that promise “has not materialized,,, >click to read< 14:25
‘Our boys deserve more time’ – “This is unacceptable! This is absolutely the wrong decision! It is too soon!”
The father of one of the two men aboard a fishing vessel lost in waters off southern Labrador is appealing to the Canadian Coast Guard to reverse its decision to change its mission from one of search and rescue to recovery. Local fishermen began the search, which was later joined by the Coast Guard and aircraft at the direction of the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in Halifax.,, Dwight Russell said the family learned of Coast Guard’s plans Sunday evening. “But as I write this, the Coast Guard has informed our families that they are pulling out and changing the mission from search & rescue to recovery, and operational control will be turned over to the RCMP. >click to read< 08:36
Search for Mary’s Harbour fishermen enters 2nd day as N.L. communities hold vigils overnight
The fishermen, Marc Russell and Joey Jenkins, were expected to land in Mary’s Harbour around 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Local fishing crews began the search that evening. The JRCC and the Canadian Coast Guard joined later that night after picking up radio chatter from the ongoing search,,, the provincial government and a significant number of local vessels have also aided in the search, which has greatly enhanced searching capabilities. Several vessels were on the water Saturday evening after Dwight Russell, Marc Russell’s father, made a call to fishers in the area to aid in the search. >photos, click to read< 13:21
Search underway for missing fishers off Mary’s Harbour – The father of a fisherman missing at sea is asking boats from Southern Labrador and Northern Newfoundland to join the search effort for his son and a second crew member. The two-person crew aboard Island Lady was expected to land in Mary’s Harbour around 5:00 p.m. on Friday. >click to read< 17:22
USCG and RCAF helicopter crews rescued over two dozen fishermen from a sinking vessel on a stormy night.
An offshore fishing trawler named Atlantic Destiny was in distress and her crew of 31 was battling a fire while the vessel was without power or steerage and shipping water. There initially was no direct line of communication with the stricken vessel, which may have experienced an engine room explosion and was running on emergency backup power. Information relayed from other fishing vessels in the vicinity suggested the situation was dire, but the crew had not yet given up hope they could save her. “As soon as we hear something like that, we start acting swiftly,”,,, But with 31 people to extract, this would be especially challenging. “It was a very large number of people to rescue in a very difficult location.” >video, click to read< 19:38
Chief William Saulis: RCMP to use sonar in effort to locate missing Nova Scotia scallop dragger
In a news release Tuesday morning, RCMP say the aerial search would resume, weather permitting, after it was paused on Monday, and an underwater recovery team would join the efforts and explore the water with sonar equipment. RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Andrew Joyce said the sonar search was dependent on conditions and it was not clear, as of late morning, whether the underwater crew would be able to start Tuesday. The goal, he said, is to locate the vessel. >click to read< 10:58
Chief William Saulis: RCMP continues search for missing fishermen on Monday, say unidentified debris found
The RCMP says it is continuing the recovery mission for five scallop fishers and a vessel missing off the Nova Scotia shore on Monday. Police say helicopter crews did an aerial search of the coastline spanning approximately 100 kilometres, from Digby Gut to Harbourville. The search did not locate the missing fishermen nor the debris from the Chief William Saulis fishing vessel. video, >click to read< 14:06
For Nova Scotia mother of scallop fisherman, a painful wait for her son lost at sea
For Lori Phillips, waiting for news of a son lost at sea is painful, as she says closure could begin with his body’s return from the Bay of Fundy. As of Sunday at 4 p.m. local time, crewman Michael Drake is the only one of the six people on board whose body has been recovered by search teams. Phillips says she hopes desperately her son Aaron Cogswell and the others still missing can be located as well, whether by searches or raising the vessel. The continuing care assistant in the Annapolis Valley has had a trying year, looking after elderly residents in a Berwick, N.S. long-term care facility during the COVID-19 pandemic, and recently grieving the death of her father-in-law. “I want my son home. I want to have something that I could go to,”,,, “I need his body, I need closure and , video, >click to read< 17:27
F/V Chief William Saulis: Helicopter search reveals no sign of scallop fishermen lost off Nova Scotia this morning
RCMP say an aerial search for five fishermen who were working on a scallop boat when it sank in the Bay of Fundy has not spotted any sign of them as of late morning local time today. Police had said in a news release on Saturday that a search with a helicopter would be suspended until Sunday, but have since corrected this to say some aerial searching occurred on Saturday and was continuing into Sunday morning. A release said the search did not locate the missing fishermen or debris from the scallop dragger Chief William Saulis,,, >click to read< 12:29
Search for missing fishermen in Bay of Fundy has paused
The search for five fishermen, and clues about what happened to their missing scallop vessel in the Bay of Fundy, has been put on pause, again.What began as a search-and-rescue mission on the water, as well as by ground and air on Dec. 15, turned into an RCMP recovery mission 36 hours later. All efforts were suspended when a winter storm hit the province on Dec. 17, and resumed only briefly by helicopter the following day. In an update Saturday morning, RCMP said the ground search has been suspended indefinitely because of unsafe conditions. A search by air may resume Sunday if the weather allows. >click to read< 12:14
Search resumes for missing F/V Chief William Saulis fishermen in Bay of Fundy
Police say the search for five missing fishermen from the Chief William Saulis fishing vessel in the Bay of Fundy will resume from the air on Friday morning. Nova Scotia RCMP said in a news release that they are partnering with the Department of Lands and Forestry to search by helicopter. The ground search is still suspended due to safety concerns, after a snowstorm that hit the province on Thursday. Police say they will reassess conditions on Saturday. >click to read< 11:37
F/V Chief William Saulis: Support being extended to families of lost and missing fishermen – Vessel Owner Issues Statement
“As our community continues to grieve, it is most important that the families and friends of those lost know we are here to support them in whatever way they need – physically, mentally, spiritually,” said Yarmouth Mayor Pam Mood on Thursday, Dec. 17. “We are a resilient community but now is not the time to talk about bouncing back. Now is the time to grieve. To cry. Be angry. To feel.”,,, With families at the forefront during this time of grief, Mood reached out to Bertha Brannen, a grief recovery specialist in Yamouth, who will work with families of those lost. >click to read< 07:49
Search Suspended; Owner Of Capsized Vessel Issues Statement – Yarmouth Sea Products issued a statement Wednesday about the loss of the Chief William Saulis and the six fishermen aboard. >click to read the statement in full<
Yarmouth is heartbroken by fishing tragedy – ‘It’s such a feeling that ‘sad’ doesn’t even describe’
If there is one thing Yarmouth prides itself on, it is for being a fishing community.,, There are ups. And there are downs. It’s almost like wedding vows. For better, for worse. For richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health. And sometimes, tragically, ‘till death do us part.,, Southwestern Nova Scotia has not been immune to loss, heartbreak and tragedy on the sea. And it can also be cruel. And now comes more heartache. The scallop dragger F/V Chief William Saulis and its six-member crew was on its way into port on Tuesday, Dec. 15 when something went terribly wrong. >click to read< 10:19
F/V Chief Williams Saulis: ‘Hearts are extremely heavy’ as search for missing N.S. fishing crew ends
The Maritime Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre said late Wednesday afternoon that it is suspending the search for five missing fishermen in the Bay of Fundy. The news comes after 36 hours of searching for the crew of the Chief Williams Saulis, a scallop vessel based out of Yarmouth, N.S. The RCMP will now handle the investigation as a missing persons case. The JRCC said the search covered 260 nautical miles by sea and air. One body was recovered on Tuesday night, but had not yet been publicly identified. >click to read< 07:16
Body of Newfoundland Fisherman Recovered, Search for Others Called Off in Nova Scotia – Residents of the Town of Fortune are rallying around the family of a man whose body was recovered,,, The man, Michael Drake, was one of six crewmen on board the Chief William Saulis,,, >click to read<
RCMP suspend search for Chief William Saulis fishermen due to impending storm – Chief Deborah Robinson of Acadia First Nation also expressed her condolences in a statement on Thursday morning. Eugene Francis, nicknamed Geno, was a community member who lived on the Yarmouth reserve, growing up in Milton, N.S., where his parents and son still live. “We were devastated to hear that Geno was among those on board and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and all the families, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, who are impacted by this tragic event,” Robinson said. >click to read<
Missing fishermen identified as Bay of Fundy search stretches into 2nd day
The mother of one of five fishermen still missing in the Bay Fundy says she has accepted her son won’t be found alive, as searchers continue for a second day to comb a stretch of Nova Scotia coastline for signs of the crew of a scallop fishing vessel that hasn’t been heard from since Tuesday morning. Aaron Cogswell, Leonard Gabriel, Dan Forbes, Michael Drake and Geno Francis, along with captain Charles Roberts, were the six men on 
board the Chief William Saulis. Lori Phillips said her son, Cogswell, 29, had been fishing with the captain of the vessel for seven years. “I know he’s not coming back alive, but I want him to come back home,” Her son had high-functioning autism, Phillips said, and Roberts, the captain, took him under his wing. “He was always there for him. He was his protector,” Video, photos, >click to read< 16:35
Digby, NS residents apprehensive as search continues for missing scallop boat – Digby resident David Stephens talked about the impact on the local community, while fellow scallop fisherman Kim Emino discussed his own personal search and rescue effort for the missing fishermen. Video, >click to watch<
Search continues for 5 remaining fishermen of missing scallop boat, crew identified
Searchers are back on land, sea and on the ground today, Dec. 16, looking for missing crew members of the Chief William Saulis,,, The body of one crew member was recovered from the water Tuesday night. Five others remain missing. Multiple people, including the Coldwater Lobster Association, have posted on social media that the crew consisted of Captain Charles Roberts and crew members Aaron Cogswell, Michael Drake, Dan Forbes, Geno Francis and Leonard Gabriel. “We’re going to be out through the rest of today,” JRCC spokesman Lt.-Cmdr. Brian Owens said Wednesday morning. “No determination has been made as to any change to that posture right now.” >click to read< 13:16
UPDATED: One F/V Chief William Saulis crewman found dead, search continues for 5 others on Bay of Fundy
Searchers were combing the Bay of Fundy by air and sea after the scallop boat Chief William Saulis and its six crew members went missing in rough seas early Tuesday morning. Late last night, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, which is leading the search for the vessel, reported that one of men was found dead. Former crewman Jacob Jacquard heard some names of those believed to be on board, but that list was more than six names so he didn’t know for sure who was working. He said the RCMP in the area were going to homes to confirm with families whether their loved ones were on the boat. >click to read< 06:53
