Tag Archives: Coast Guard
Fire extinguished on Renaissance Offshore LLC oil production platform in the Gulf, no sign of pollution
A fire broke out on an oil production platform in the Gulf of Mexico early Thursday (Jan. 5), forcing four workers to evacuate by lifeboat before the blaze was extinguished. There were no injuries and inspectors found no sign of pollution, authorities said. The blaze was reported about 2:30 a.m. on a platform about 80 miles south of Grand Isle, Louisiana, and was extinguished nearly four hours later, the Coast Guard said in a statement. The four workers were rescued by the crew of the 130-foot Mary Wyatt Milano, a supply vessel, the Coast Guard said. They were flown to a hospital in Houma to be evaluated, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said in a statement. Read the story here 11:05
BREAKING! Fire Burns on Oil Platform in Gulf of Mexico
The Coast Guard says it’s responding to a fire on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. A Coast Guard news release says the fire was reported around 2:30 a.m. Thursday on an oil platform about 80 miles south of Grand Isle, Louisiana. The Coast Guard says four people aboard the platform evacuated and were rescued by a supply vessel. No injuries have been reported. Four vessels are fighting the fire and the cause is under investigation. Updated click here 07:04
Coast Guard rescues 1 fisherman aboard disabled crab vessel in Bellingham Bay
The Coast Guard rescued one mariner aboard a disabled vessel after he become disoriented in Bellingham Bay, Saturday. Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound command center received a report from Station Bellingham of the disabled and adrift 27-foot crab in the shoals of Bellingham Bay with one person aboard at 3:05 p.m. The mariner was unable to give his exact position but was quickly located after Sector personnel tracked his location using his cell phone GPS signal. A Coast Guard Station Bellingham rescue boat crew aboard a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium responded to the incident and safely removed the mariner from his vessel at 4:13 p.m. The mariner was reported to be in good condition and did not seek medical attention. The weather at the time of the rescue was 4-6 foot waves and 25-knot winds. Link 08:52
Coast Guard, Oregon and Washington state wildlife officials monitor Dungeness crab fleet to ensure safety, enforce laws
The Coast Guard is teaming with Oregon and Washington state authorities to monitor the commercial crab fishing fleet across the Oregon and Washington coasts to ensure safety and enforce the laws and regulations associated with the opening of the Dungeness crab season. The Dungeness crab fishery officially opened Dec. 15 for pre-soak south of Cape Blanco and Oregon and Washington respectively set an opening at 9 a.m. Jan. 1 for commercial crabbing from Cape Blanco north to Klipsan Beach, Wash., and north of Klipsan Beach to Queets River, Wash., at 9 a.m. Jan. 7. Coast Guard aircraft have conducted numerous over-flights of Oregon crab fishing grounds to monitor the pre-soak and the opening in southern Oregon. The Coast Guard will expand patrols up the Oregon and Washington coasts as the season opens in all areas. These efforts assist Oregon and Washington state fish and wildlife officials monitor the state regulated fishery while enhancing Coast Guard search and rescue capabilities. Read the rest here 09:50
Coast Guard medevacs seasick, unresponsive man from fishing vessel in the Gulf
The Coast Guard medevaced a 28-year-old male aboard the fishing vessel Captain David 40 nautical miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana, Saturday. The Eighth Coast Guard District watchstanders received a report at 3:16 p.m. that Andrew Carl had been suffering from seasickness and had become unresponsive. Watchstanders from Coast Guard Sector New Orleans were notified and launched a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin aircrew at 4:26 p.m. The MH-65 aircrew arrived on scene at 5:22 p.m. and transported Carl to Louisiana State University Hospital in New Orleans at 7:46 p.m. He was reported in stable condition but still unresponsive. Link 09:34
A leaking pipe may have started Alaska Juris demise
Flashlight in hand, a stunned Chief Engineer Eddie Hernandez peered into the darkness to survey the swamped engine room of the Alaska Juris. The cold seawater was waist-deep, and more was bubbling up from a leak, possibly from a busted pipe on the starboard side of the factory trawler. “I wasn’t afraid or anything. I just felt helpless,” Hernandez was a key witness for Coast Guard officials seeking to unravel the mystery of the Alaska Juris’ demise on a calm, summer day. Officials also are investigating the tangled operations of the vessel’s owner, Fishing Company of Alaska, which teams with a Japanese fish buyer and still operates three factory trawlers whose large crews in remote North Pacific locations net, process and freeze the catch. The hearings offered a gritty look at conditions aboard the vessel, which had benefitted from millions of dollars in investments in maintenance — yet still appeared so unsafe, one engineer said, that he quit this year after spending just a day at port. “The biggest thing that was bugging me was that if I take this job, I’m going to have to lie to my wife and kids about the condition of this boat,” said Carl Lee Jones Read the story here 22:34
Coast Guard responds to medical emergency of fishing captain off Hull, Massachusetts
The Coast Guard responded to a distress call Tuesday outside of Boston Harbor after a fisherman noticed their captain was unwell. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Boston received a radio call on VHF 16 at 4:15 p.m. from the crew of the 44-foot lobster boat, homeported in Winthrop, MA, reporting their captain was displaying stroke-like symptoms and was unresponsive. A 29-foot response boat crew already underway from Station Point Allerton diverted and arrived on scene within ten minutes. The boat crew took over CPR, used a defibrillator, and transported him to Reserve Channel where Boston Emergency Medical Services was waiting. The captain was transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital where he was pronounced dead. “It is always hard to lose a loved one, especially during this time of year, and our hearts go out to the crew and the captain’s family,” said Lt. John Gustus, the command duty officer at Sector Boston. link 11:06
Coast Guard medevacs fisherman near Kodiak Island, Alaska
A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew medevaced a fisherman from the fishing vessel Transit in Shelikof Strait near Kodiak Island Sunday morning. The 37-year-old fisherman was hoisted and transported to Kodiak where he was met by awaiting emergency medical services personnel. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Anchorage received a medevac request from the captain of the Transit who reported a crewmember was suffering from seizure like symptoms. The duty flight surgeon recommended the medevac and the helicopter crew was dispatched. Weather on scene during the time of the medevac was reported as 7-mph winds with choppy seas and 12-miles of visibility. Link 07:35
Congressmen Seek Investigation Of Hawaii Fishing Practices
Four Democratic congressmen have written to officials at the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration claiming that Hawaii’s longline fishing fleet is operating illegally by employing — and in some cases possibly abusing — foreign fishermen. The congressmen said fishing boat owners who are not in “compliance with the law” should not be allowed to sell their products. Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva’s staff convened a forum about the matter on Capitol Hill last week. Activists at the event, who described what was happening as modern-day slavery, advocated a boycott of tuna until the alleged abuses stop. “This illegal activity does not represent American values and has dealt a blow to U.S. credibility as a global leader in fighting (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing and human trafficking,” the congressmen wrote. WHERE IS THE PROOF! Read the rest here 10:41
Coast Guard hoists injured fisherman from vessel 20 miles off Florence, Ore.
A Coast Guard aircrew hoisted an injured crew member from a 75-foot fishing vessel more than 20 miles off Florence, Thursday. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Station Coos Bay received the initial notification in a series of incomplete VHF-radio transmissions shortly after midnight. They made contact over phone with the master of the fishing vessel Leann, who confirmed that the crew member was unconscious after he fell and suffered a head injury. While the aircrew readied to launched, the master reported that the crew member was awake but combative, and at the request of the helicopter pilot a 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew, from Coast Guard Station Siuslaw River in Florence, responded as well to act as a safety boat. Once on scene, the rescue swimmer was lowered to the vessel to prepare for the hoist while the remaining helicopter crew left to take on fuel. The MLB crew remained on scene until the hoist was safely completed, at which time they returned to station. An from Coast Guard Sector North Bend safely transported the 50-year-old man to medical personnel at Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay. link 14:34
Accusations fly at hearing into Alaska Juris sinking
A Coast Guard hearing into the July sinking of the Alaska Juris took a volatile turn on Thursday as a marine contractor once charged with shore repairs alleged that misconduct by some Japanese crew contributed to safety problems. Herb Roeser, owner of Seattle-based Trans-Marine Propulsion Systems, alleged in his testimony that Masashi Yamada, a Japanese entrepreneur with wide-ranging business holdings, wielded behind-the-scenes control of the factory ship’s owner, Renton-based Fishing Company of Alaska. Roeser said Japanese crews working for one of Yamada’s businesses, Anyo Fisheries, “basically ran” the Alaska Juris. Over the years, Roeser said, the Alaska Juris had been weakened by not only age but also improper modifications ordered by Japanese crew and their rough fishing tactics that slammed metal trawl gear — known as doors — against the stern of the vessel and contributed to cracks. Roeser testified that when he stopped working for the company in 2011, he told the U.S. owner, the late Karena Adler, that “you need to put that ship in the scrap yard because nothing good is going to come of it.” Read the rest here 16:11
Coast Guard medevacs injured fisherman in Pybus Bay, Alaska
A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew medevaced an injured mariner off the fishing vessel Vendor in Pybus Bay, near Fredrick Sound, approximately 80 miles south of Juneau, Wednesday. The Jayhawk crew hoisted the 37-year-old man and transported him to awaiting emergency medical personnel in Sitka. Coast Guard Sector Juneau watchstanders responded to a mayday call from the mariner on VHF channel 16. The mariner requested assistance after reportedly suffering from a leg laceration. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon and requested the launch of the Air Station Sitka Jayhawk and a Station Juneau Response Boat-Medium. “Having communication and safety devices on board your vessel is critical in Alaskan waters,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Francell Abbott, Sector Juneau watchstander. “Having a VHF radio allowed this mariner to call for help and allowed our crew to quickly get him to EMS.” Weather on scene was 12-mph winds, 1-foot seas. Link 08:39
3 rescued, 2 still missing after fishing vessel sinks near Dutch Harbor
A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew and four good Samaritan crews responded to the sinking of fishing vessel Exito after it began taking on water 14 miles northeast of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, Tuesday evening. Three of the vessel’s five crewmembers were located by the good Samaritan crew of the Afognac Strait. The crewmembers were brought on board the vessel and are being transferred to Dutch Harbor. The Jayhawk aircrew and good Samaritan crews on the commercial fishing vessels Commitment, Blue North and Northern Lead continue to search for the remaining two crewmembers of the Exito. The crewmembers brought on board the Afognak Strait reported that one of the remaining crewmembers had put on immersion suit and was last seen preparing to abandon ship. Coast Guard Sector Anchorage watchstanders received a phone call at 9:38 p.m., Tuesday, from the owner of the Exito reporting that the vessel was taking on water and the crew was preparing to abandon ship. Coast Guard 17th District watchstanders diverted Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley and requested the launch of the Air Station Kodiak Jayhawk. Link 15:37 About F/V Exito
Coast Guard rescues 5 fishermen from aground fishing vessel off Moclips Beach, Wash.
The Coast Guard rescued five fishermen off an aground commercial fishing vessel in the vicinity of Grenville Bay, north of Moclips Beach early Wednesday morning. The five-man crew was removed from the vessel by an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Sector Columbia River and transferred to Quinalt Indian Reservation emergency medical services. Watchstanders at Sector Columbia River in Warrenton, Oregon, were notified of the grounding at 3:30 a.m., by the crew of the Qualaysquallum, a 58-foot, steel hulled tribal fishing vessel, homeported in Westport. No injuries or pollution have been reported. The vessel’s crew deployed the vessel’s anchor before abandoning ship via helicopter. The fishing vessel reportedly has less than 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 8,000 pounds of crab aboard. The cause of the incident is under investigation. Link Watch video here 14:41
Video: Coast Guard responds to fishing vessel’s may day call near Martha’s Vineyard
Coast Guard crews escorted a disabled 47-foot fishing vessel to safety Monday evening into Tuesday morning from 30 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. The fishing vessel Pilgrim became disabled after its mast broke and was left hanging over the side. Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector Southeastern New England were notified Monday at around 4:30 p.m. by Pilgrim’s captain via marine radio of the situation. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod launched and was able to locate the vessel based off Pilgrim’s may day call. After locating Pilgrim, the helicopter crew remained on scene until Coast Guard Cutter Albacore arrived to take over. The Albacore stayed with Pilgrim until Pilgrim’s sister ship, Shamrock, arrived Tuesday morning and was able to help the Pilgrim crew make repairs at sea. Watch video here 16:54
One mariner’s quest to obtain his captain’s license may inspire you
A few years ago I inherited a Victory Marine jacket from my dad. I had worn the jacket from time to time without giving a second thought to the letters “Capt.” embroidered on the chest. Occasionally people would ask, “Are you a captain?” You will note the official designation is master. There is no Coast Guard sanctioned captain’s license. To claim the appellative of captain you will need to set your sights on acquiring a Merchant Mariner Credential with an officer endorsement as Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels (OUPV) or master. I am sharing this chronicle in the hopes that it will shed some light on the process and perhaps inspire you to consider the challenge of obtaining your own master’s certificate. Read the article here 18:46
Coast Guard Investigation Hearing, F/V Alaska Juris – Listen Live!
The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday kicked off a public hearing on its investigation into the abandoning and sinking of the fishing vessel Alaska Juris off the coast of Alaska earlier this year. The 10-day Formal Marine Investigation is open to the public and is taking place at the Henry Jackson Federal Building in Seattle, Washington. The intent of the hearing is to interview witnesses and gather information about the cause of the sinking of the fishing/processor vessel Alaska Juris in the Bering Sea on July 26, 2016. The vessel is believed to have sank in approximately 5,400 feet of water after the crew abandoned ship about 690 miles west of Dutch Harbor Alaska. Listen to Live Proceedings here 18:19
Coast Guard conducts medevac from fishing vessel off Oahu
The Coast Guard medevaced the master of the 70-foot fishing vessel Lady J3 about 41 miles north of Oahu Saturday morning. An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Barbers Point safely medevaced the 36-year-old man to Queens Medical Center in Honolulu for treatment. He was reportedly suffering from swelling to his lower extremities and was unable to stand. Coast Guard watchstanders at Joint Rescue Communications Center Honolulu received a request for the medevac from the NOAA Fisheries observer aboard the Lady J3 mid-morning Friday. The vessel was 176 miles north of Kauai at the time, heading toward Oahu and maintained a six-hour communications schedule with Coast Guard Sector Honolulu watchstanders. By the evening the master’s condition had deteriorated and he was having trouble breathing. At the recommendation of the Coast Guard flight surgeon the vessel continued to make best course and speed toward Oahu to close the distance and bring them into range of the Coast Guard Dolphin crew. The medevac was conducted at first light to bring the master to a higher level of medical care. Weather conditions at the time of the hoist were reportedly 12 mph winds with seas to 7 feet, haze and showers. link 09:26
Coast Guard escorts 4 to safety after heavy winds, seas damage fishing boat off Portland, Maine
The Coast Guard assisted four people to safety Wednesday after heavy winds and seas damaged a fishing boat about 40 miles southeast of Portland, Maine. A fisherman aboard the Gracelyn Jane sent a distress hail to Coast Guard Sector Northern New England watchstanders Tuesday evening and reported their fishing boat was disabled with four people aboard. The man reported the crew lost their GPS, the boat was losing power, and their windows had shattered. On scene weather at the time was 30 knot winds and 10-14 foot seas. The 270-foot Coast Guard Cutter Northland, homported in Portsmouth, Virginia, was approximately ten miles from Gracelyn Jane’s location and quickly diverted from their patrol to help. A helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod also deployed to provide assistance. After arriving on scene, Northland’s crew found the Gracelyn Jane regained power and made way toward shore escorted by the Coast Guard. Once closer to shore, a response boat crew from Coast Guard Station Boothbay Harbor relieved Northland’s crew from their escort and accompanied Gracelyn Jane into Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Link 15:27
Coast Guard issues temporary safety zone near Morro Bay Harbor Entrance
The Captain of the Port will be enforcing a temporary safety zone due to hazardous conditions in the vicinity of the Morro Bay Harbor entrance from November 29 –December 13, 2016. The safety zone will encompass all navigable waters from the surface to the sea floor near the inside and outside of the mouth of the Morro Bay Harbor entrance. This action is necessary to reduce significant hazards subject to the vessels, the harbor and the public during periods of poor weather conditions. The Coast Guard will energize the Morro Bay “Rough Bar Warning Light” to signify that rough bar conditions exist at the harbor’s entrance. No vessel or person is permitted to operate in the temporary safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port or her designated representative. Read the rest here 20:18
As anniversary nears, reports on deadly F/V Orin C sinking unfinished
Saturday will mark the one-year anniversary of the sinking of the Orin C and the death of Gloucester fisherman David “Heavy D” Sutherland, but the final federal reports on the deadly incident still will not be released until January. Representatives of the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board on Monday confirmed the new timetable for releasing the findings of the separate investigations and restated the government’s intention to release the reports simultaneously. “We were really pushing to have a completed report before the anniversary of the tragedy to help bring some closure up here,” said Lt. Karen Kutiewicz of the Coast Guard’s District 1 Headquarters in Boston. “That was our goal. Unfortunately, it’s not the reality.”The draft of the Coast Guard’s internal casualty investigation was completed earlier this year and forwarded during the summer to Washington, D.C., for review by officials at Coast Guard headquarters. In July, the NTSB said it expected to release the conclusions of its investigation “sometime in the fall.” An NTSB spokesman on Monday said the agency has not yet concluded its investigation and does not expect to have the final report until mid-January. Read the story here 09:01
Coast Guard, Washington State Department of Ecology respond to sunken vessel in Westport, Wash.
Coast Guard and Washington State Department of Ecology crews responded to a 41-foot vessel that sank at the Westport Marina, Friday. Coast Guard Incident Management Division personnel, from Coast Guard Sector Columbia River in Warrenton, are monitoring salvage and clean up efforts as Ballard Marine Construction response contractors start to remove fuel from the vessel Saturday. Watchstanders at Coast Guard 13th District Command Center in Seattle received a notification at 12:52 a.m., Friday, from the emergency position indicating radio beacon aboard the vessel Charlotte. A crew from Coast Guard Station Grays Harbor investigated the location of the beacon and found the sunken vessel, while watchstanders were able to contact the vessel owner and confirm they were safe elsewhere. Read the rest here 16:56
A father and son in St. Bernard Parish have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving
They said they almost died after their shrimp boat sank. After being stranded for hours, they were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard when another boater called for help. WDSU obtained video shot by the Coast Guard of the moment Daniel Scott and his stepfather, Joseph Mitchell, were rescued on Lake Borgne in Hopedale Saturday. “I broke down night before last after we got home,” Mitchell said. “I cried and I cried thinking about losing my son’s life.” The two were out shrimping. Winds picked up, the waves started crashing and the boat started sinking. “In a matter of seconds, Jo, my stepdad said, ‘Grab the life preservers,’ which we did,” Scott said. “I climbed out the window pulled him out the window. By that time the boat was under and we climbed up and hung out for about five hours and realized there is nobody out there to help us.” Video, read the story here 17:23
Fairhaven man sentenced for making hoax distress calls to U.S. Coast Guard
A Fairhaven man was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with sending three false distress messages to the U.S. Coast Guard over the radio. Roger Martin, 47, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to one year of probation and ordered to pay $7,182 in restitution to the U.S. Coast Guard. In August 2016, Martin pleaded guilty to three counts of sending false distress messages to the U.S. Coast Guard and one count of identity fraud. Martin, in three separate calls, claimed that he was on a boat in the Cape Cod Canal that was sinking. During the calls he impersonated a resident of Fairhaven, providing a name, street address and, on one occasion, date of birth. Martin had obtained the date of birth through the improper use of a law enforcement database through his former employment as a Bristol Country Sheriff’s dispatcher. In response to the calls, the U.S. Coast Guard and local law enforcement expended resources ascertaining that there was no true emergency and attempting to track down the hoax caller. Link 12:57
Coast Guard rescues three Gulf fishermen from sunken vessel
The Coast Guard rescued three people from a sunken fishing vessel approximately 35 miles southwest of Cape San Blas, Florida, Wednesday. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Mobile received a mayday call on VHF channel 16 from the crew of the Marion J, a 38-foot fishing vessel, at 1:44 a.m. explaining that their vessel was taking on water. Sector Mobile received a call from a crewmember’s girlfriend who told watchstanders that there were three people aboard the vessel, and the boat was approximately 35 miles southwest of Cape San Blas. The fishing vessel sunk and the crew boarded a life raft. The MH-60 crew located the people in a life raft, hoisted them at 4:40 a.m. and transported them to Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater to emergency medical services in stable condition. link 12:35
The sinking and recovery/salvage of F/V Captain Jeff
The Coast Guard and local responders rescued 6 people Sunday from a 72-foot scallop boat sinking five miles off New Bedford. The survivors were taken into New Bedford to be evaluated by awaiting emergency services personnel. There were no reported injuries. “The Coast Guard is grateful for the responsiveness and dedication of our interagency partners in Buzzards Bay,” said Lt. Jarrod Pomajzl, the command center chief at Sector Southeastern New England. “Everything they bring to the table improves the search and rescue system, and today they helped save six lives.” Commercial salvage has been arranged. The cause of the sinking is under investigation. The Captain Jeff is home-ported in New Bern, North Carolina. View 11 photos here 16:52
Coast Guard saves 6 from scalloper sinking off New Bedford, MA
The Coast Guard and local responders rescued 6 people Sunday from a 72-foot scallop boat sinking five miles off New Bedford. A person aboard the scallop boat, Captain Jeff, used a VHF radio at 9:30 a.m. to hail watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England, in Woods Hole, and report their boat was taking on water. A 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew from Coast Guard Station Menemsha and a helicopter crew from Air Station Cape Cod responded to help. The Buzzards Bay Task Force also responded to help the six people. Once on scene, a rescue swimmer deployed from the helicopter onto the Captain Jeff with dewatering equipment to control the flooding. After the Coast Guard rescue swimmer realized the dewatering equipment was not working, he assisted all six people off the scallop boat and aboard a task force boat. The survivors were taken into New Bedford to be evaluated by awaiting emergency services personnel. There were no reported injuries. The Captain Jeff is currently still sinking and adrift in New Bedford Harbor. Commercial salvage has been arranged. The cause of the sinking is under investigation. The Captain Jeff is homeported in New Bern, North Carolina. Link 13:48
Fairhaven officials cite fishing boat’s bilge in harbor oil spill
State and local officials, along with the U.S. Coast Guard, are investigating a “significant oil spill” in New Bedford Harbor, Fairhaven fire officials said. The Fairhaven Fire Department received a call from town Harbormaster Timothy Cox who reported a significant oil spill on the Fairhaven side of the harbor in the area of the Steamship Authority pier and Warren Alexander wharf. Crews were advised that the Fishing Vessel Ocean Princess had pumped its bilge out overnight while making repairs, Fire Department spokesman Wayne Oliveira said in a news advisory about the spill. An unknown quantity of bilge oil was pumped into the harbor causing a floating oil slick, he said. Crews immediately used booms to contain the floating oil and keep the slick from spreading any farther. Read the rest here 09:40
Coast Guard still investigating F/V Alaska Juris sinking
It’s been four months since the F/V Alaska Juris sank in the Bering Sea, and the U.S. Coast Guard is still trying to figure out why its engine room flooded, forcing 46 crew-members to abandon ship near Kiska Island. Lt. Rven Garcia leads the investigations division for Coast Guard Sector Anchorage. He said investigators have scheduled two weeks of public hearings in Seattle to determine why the 220-foot trawler went down. “Since the sinking, the investigation team has identified witnesses and developed theories as to what caused it,” Garcia said. “So the hearing is a kind of public forum to interview those witnesses and fully explore those theories.” Those theories and the names of the witnesses won’t be made public until the hearings in December. But Garcia said there’s a reason the interviews are happening in Seattle. “That’s where the vessel was home-ported, the owners are home-ported there, and a lot of the crew-members are from Seattle,” Garcia said. Read the rest here 13:08
Updated: Body of overboard fisherman found on Hatteras Island
The body of a fisherman who fell overboard Monday morning was found hours later on Hatteras Island. U.S. Coast Guard officials say crews were launched around 11 a.m. The 50-year-old fell overboard from the 70-foot fishing vessel Lady Kimberly of Beaufort, N.C. about noon as he was hauling in shrimp nets, said Coast Guard spokeswoman Corinne Zilnicki. Two hours later, the National Park Service informed the Coast Guard that the man’s body had been recovered on Hatteras Island by local law enforcement. Authorities have not yet identified the fisherman. link 14:44
