Tag Archives: C/FV Atlantic Charger

‘We were damn near killed’: Atlantic Charger captain speaks out on survival, rescue

The nine men who survived the sinking of the Atlantic Charger off Nunavut last month are trying to put the harrowing ordeal behind them, with the skipper speaking out strongly about why a helicopter was not on the scene to rescue them.  “It’s on my mind continually. It just haven’t left me,” Byron Oxford, the Atlantic Charger’s captain, said in an interview with CBC Radio’s The Broadcast. Oxford, who is still recovering from the Sept. 21 incident, also becomes emotional as he describes the gruelling wait the crew endured for an anticipated air rescue that never arrived. Read the rest here 08:43

Owner of Atlantic Charger, sunk in Frobisher Bay, angry no helicopter responded

The owner of the Atlantic Charger, which sank in the Davis Strait last month, is asking why a search and rescue helicopter wasn’t dispatched from Labrador to rescue the crew. Brad Watkins, who owned the Atlantic Charger before it sank in off Resolution Island Sept. 22, said he’s grateful to the “awesome” search and rescue team that responded. However, he says his crew members were disappointed and angry by the absence of a helicopter during the rescue. Read the rest here 09:05

Safe and Sound – Atlantic Charger crew reunited with family back in Newfoundland

Crew members of an ill-fated fishing vessel have finally returned home to Newfoundland, after a tragic few days which saw them abandon their sinking boat and spend 10 hours at sea in a life raft off the coast of Nunavut. The men finally arrived in Harbour Grace round 9:30 a.m. Friday aboard the fishing trawler Katsheshuk, where they were greeted by anxious family members. Read the rest here 10:08

Just two months ago – Fishing for a Future aboard the Atlantic Charger.

All Brad Watkins has ever wanted to do is fish on a longliner.  He even said so in his high school yearbook. Brad is 43 now and while some may say the fishery is an industry of the past, Brad sees a future for himself and other young people on the water.  He’s invested in the Atlantic Charger…a state of the art vessel with European technology. And he and his crew are steaming straight ahead. We make a trip on board the Atlantic Charger, shrimp fishing off Newfoundland’s north east coast Watch the video here 11:17

Wife of Atlantic Charger crewman says husband in ‘good spirits’

Iona Young of Virgin Arm received the long-awaited call from her husband early Tuesday morning, confirming he was safe following the partial sinking of the Atlantic Charger.”We don’t care what they lost, as long as we got them coming home,” Iona Young told CBC News. Gerard Young was one of nine men from Newfoundland and Labrador aboard the 21-metre fishing vessel when she began taking on water early Monday morning. The turbot-laden vessel was fishing the frigid waters of Frobisher Bay near Resolution Island when they were forced,,, Read the rest here 11:04