Tag Archives: fishing disaster

Inquest recalls fishing disaster – Wexford fishermen’s trawler sank “extremely quickly”

Two fishermen drowned after their trawler capsized and sank “extremely quickly” while they were hauling scallops on board in January of last year, an inquest has heard. Verdicts of accidental death as a result of drowning have been returned in relation to the deaths of William Whelan (41) and Joe Sinnott (65) whose trawler, the Alize, sank while returning to the south Wexford coast on 4 January 2020. The two men had been fishing for scallops since the previous morning, an inquest in Wexford heard today. >click to read<Inquest recalls fishing disaster which claimed two lives off the Wexford coast – Just a few weeks from the second anniversary of the fishing disaster which claimed their lives, the families of Wexford men Joseph ‘Joe’ Sinnott (65) of Seaview, Kilmore, and William ‘Willie’ Whelan (41) of Gurteens, Saltmills, arrived at Wexford Courthouse today (Friday) for the finalisation of the inquests into the fishermen’s deaths. >click to read< 10:04

Fishing Disaster

I learned about the magnitude of the Gulf of Alaska as a youth in Yakutat when my father decided we would take up commercial fishing. He lost everything; boat, nets and almost his son. Commercial fishing is serious business in Alaska waters!,,, My father was a civilian contractor on the White Alice early warning system during this time in the mid-1960s,,,,As a youth who had attended 7th grade at Orah Dee Clark Junior High school in Mt. View, I was an angry kid. My father determined he needed to get his family out of Anchorage before I ended up in jail. My stepmother could not control me while Dad traveled the state working at the various sites. by Donn Liston>click to read<07:47

What caused the F/V Destination to sink? Coast Guard to release findings on Sunday

The Coast Guard on Sunday will release results of its investigation into why, without a mayday call, the Seattle-based Destination sank in 2017 in Alaska’s deadliest crabbing accident in more than a decade. Over the years, Coast Guard investigative reports into fishing disasters have repeatedly spotlighted the hazards of one of the nation’s most dangerous industries, sometimes helping to push reforms but often falling short of bringing major change. All six of the Destination crew were lost on Feb. 11, 2017, and the report is expected to offer the most likely scenario for what happened on a chill day in the Bering Sea when freezing spray was thought to have frozen on the boat. The report also will offer safety recommendations to try to prevent such losses of life. >click to read<15:46