Maritime Injury Lawyer Blog

The Coast Guard was notified at about 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 10, that Newport-based F/V CHEVELLE had collided with the south side of the north jetty at the mouth of Yaquina River near Newport, Oregon, and that the crew was stranded. The weather was too rough for a sea rescue, so the four crewmembers were lifted by helicopter and set on the jetty, after which they were able to proceed to shore in good condition.

CHEVELLE has been grounded on the jetty with three- to four-thousand gallons of diesel fuel on board; a noticeable light sheen of fuel was being dispersed by strong seas. Action has been taken to protect natural areas in Yaquina Bay, if required, but pollution clean-up and vessel salvage will have to wait until the harsh weather breaks. In the meantime, there is concern that CHEVELLE may break in half in worsening weather, before salvage can begin. If any part of her sinks, she could pose a navigational hazard in the 45-foot channel.

On Sunday, March 11, two men, aged 59 and 33, were welding on a 46-foot dredging boat off Commodore Way, north of Fishermen's Terminal on Magnolia and across the canal from Ballard, when two nearby 80-gallon gas tanks exploded. The tanks each contained about three to six inches of fuel, according to other workers in the area. One tank flew over a fence and landed near the railroad tracks, while the other tank was obliterated by the explosion.

Continue reading "Dry Dock Explosion Burns Two" »

At 5:10 p.m. on Friday, March 9, the local sheriff's office received a report that a 21-foot fishing boat had capsized near the north jetty at Gold Beach, Oregon. According to reports, witnesses saw a man in the water near the rocks at the north jetty, and thought a man may have been trapped under the vessel. The Coast Guard deployed a helicopter, a response boat, and two motor lifeboats to the area to search the area, and Curry County searchers scoured the shoreline. Approximately 122 miles were covered before the search was ended at 1:39 a.m. on Saturday.

The Sheriff's Department searched the vessel after she was located washed up on the north jetty, and found no one on board. The two missing men are said to be Michael Shane Machado and Joshua Weibel, both of Port Orford, Oregon, 28 miles north of Gold Beach.

At 3:37 a.m. March 10, the Coast Guard near Astoria, Oregon, received an EPIRB from F/V LADY CECELIA, which led to the discovery of a field of debris and an inflated but empty life raft approximately 17 miles west of Leadbetter Point. The life raft and EPIRB are believed to have both activated automatically on contact with water. The Coast Guard has no record of a radio distress call from LADY CECELIA, and the vessel is said to have carried survival suits, so it's thought that whatever happened, happened before the men had time to react.

The Coast Guard launched an extensive search over an area of more than 640 square miles with two helicopters, a cutter, two motor lifeboats, and a search plane, before ending the search for LADY CECELIA and her crew at 9:44 a.m. on Sunday. Weather conditions at the time were not stormy with moderate, slow-moving waves, with a water temperature of 43 degrees.

SEATTLE -- The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search Sunday for four men missing from a fishing trawler off the Washington coast, saying it's unlikely the men are still alive.

Rescue crews searched through the night after an early Saturday distress signal from the 70-foot Lady Cecelia led them to a debris field, an empty lifeboat and an oil sheen several miles off the coast. By Sunday morning, crews in Coast Guard cutters and an MH-60 helicopter had covered 640 square miles, Petty Officer Shawn Eggert said. "We have searched far beyond what the capacity of somebody to survive in these conditions might be," he said.

Continue reading "Missing Fishermen: Search Suspended" »

Within a week, in separate incidents on separate trawlers in Alaska, two men have suffered head injuries from on-board cables.

On Thursday morning, March 1, Andrew Fotu, aged 25, of Seattle, was struck in the head by a snapped cable while working aboard F/V ALASKA JURIS, a 238-foot Fishing Company of Alaska factory trawler. A rescue swimmer, who was lowered from one of the two helicopters deployed by the Coast Guard, determined that Mr. Fotu had died. The ALASKA JURIS crew transported the young man's body to Unalaska.

Monday morning another head injury caused by a cable on board a fishing vessel in Alaska resulted in the Coast Guard emergency medevac by helicopter of 47-year-old Franz D'Alquen to Cold Bay Clinic for initial medical care. Mr. D'Alquen will receive further care in Anchorage. This occurred aboard F/V ALASKA OCEAN, a 376-foot factory trawler owned by Glacier Fish Company of Seattle.

UPDATE  3/5/12
Thursday morning local time, March 1, Costa Allegra was pulled safely by TREVIGNON to the main Seychelles island of Mahe. Passengers disembarked into Port Victoria. Some chose to remain on the island for a one- or two-week resort vacation as guests of Costa, in order to enjoy a local carnival, while other passengers chose to fly home as soon as possible on flights chartered by Costa.

During the three days in tow to Mahe, those aboard COSTA ALLEGRA are reported to have lived on deck in 95F heat, eating such food as bread and produce delivered by helicopter, and drinking bottled water. As there was no plumbing nor adequate sanitation, bottled water was also used for washing. No medical problems have been reported. Costa plans to reimburse passengers for their cruise costs, on-board spending, and other associated travel expenses. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Before dawn on Monday, Feb 27, fire broke out in the COSTA ALLEGRA electric generator room. The fire was extinguished before it could spread or cause any injury, but the ship has been left without electrical power for such necessities as ship propulsion, lights, or air conditioning. Back-up generators will keep communication gear and control room lights running.

Continue reading "Cruise Ship Without Power" »

Morning of March 2, the crew of F/V CYCLONE sent out a call for help from about twenty miles southeast of Kodiak, Alaska, reporting that CYCLONE was sinking. The Coast Guard relayed an urgent marine broadcast notice for other vessels in the area to assist. Weather conditions at that time included winds of 40mph with 20-foot seas.

Within minutes, the crew of Good Samaritan GLACIER responded was able to rescue all three CYCLONE crewmembers from the water in good condition. According to the Coast Guard, the CYCLONE crew was prepared with readily accessible survival suits, EPIRB, and a hand-held radio. (Coast Guard regulation requires fishing vessels to carry such safety equipment.) The success of this rescue was the result of the CYCLONE crew's emergency preparedness, the timely communication between the Coast Guard and the crews of CYCLONE and GLACIER, and the quick response of the GLACIER crew.

The cause of the sinking is has not yet been determined.

The Coast Guard suspended its search Thursday evening for a 47-year-old Canadian women who went overboard from the cruise ship Bahamas Celebration during a trip from Freeport, Bahamas, to Palm Beach early Wednesday.

The search covered an area of 7,296 square miles, and spanned 84 hours. Search and rescue coordinators at Coast Guard Sector Miami were notified by the captain of the cruise ship Bahamas Celebration of the report of a missing female passenger. Authorities said the woman's boyfriend last saw her early Wednesday when he left her at a ship gift shop. The man said he left the gift shop for the casino and then returned to their cabin. He alerted the ship's crew when he woke up and realized she had not returned.

About midnight, February 26, F/V NEPTUNE 1 went aground on Umnak Island, near the western tip of the Aleutian Chain. Prior to grounding, the crew of three radioed the Coast Guard that they had lost engine power and were drifting toward shore.

The Coast Guard deployed a Jayhawk helicopter, Hercules airplane, and the Cutter ALEX HALEY to the island. F/V ALASKAN ENTERPRISE, which had been 25 miles from NEPTUNE 1, also responded and provided valuable assistance by relaying communications between NEPTUNE 1 and the Coast Guard, and by using their flood lights as a guide for the Jayhawk crew during rescue.

Continue reading "F/V NEPTUNE 1 Aground" »

Two fishermen aboard 81-foot F/V PLAN B sent a call to the Coast Guard Sector Northern New England, reporting that they were taking on water about eight miles off Kennebunkport, Maine, and that their pumps were not working fast enough to keep them from flooding, in weather noted to be two-foot seas with winds up to 15 knots. The two men were rescued and taken aboard in good shape by Good Samaritan F/V CAMERAN LEE, after CAMERAN LEE responded the Coast Guard's urgent marine information broadcast.

The Coast Guard deployed a helicopter, two rescue boats, and a cutter, and currently the Coast Guard cutter is still at the scene.

PLAN B was determined by the Coast Guard to be unsafe to board and pump; she continued to take on water and sunk a few hours after her crew was rescued, leaving an oil sheen reported by Coast Guard Station South Portland to be 200 by 200 square feet. The Coast Guard picked up the large debris left by PLAN B and will monitor the pollution caused by the sinking.

The fishermen were prepared with survival suits and working communication equipment. Timely communication and quick action by all crews involved prevented serious injury or death.

A 57-year-old man was killed Sunday after falling into the chemical holding tank of a barge located on the banks of the Willamette River in Portland, according to fire officials.  

The man was first reported missing around 10am local time by a co-worker who had thought the man could have fallen overboard. The employee said he had last seen the man near the hatch of the chemical hold and just briefly turned away before turning back and realizing his co-worker went missing.  Firefighters responding to the scene said they had found a rope that led into an open hatch that covered a chemical holding tank on the barge.  Almost 4 hours later, the man's body was pulled from the emptied tank by HAZMAT crews.

Continue reading "Man Dies on Portland Barge" »

A fisherman went missing from his boat at Penn Cove, Whidbey Island, this past Sunday, February 12. At approximately 2:30 that afternoon, a Swinomish Tribal Fisheries patrol crew noticed a 32-foot fishing boat motoring in circles with no one aboard. Reportedly, witnesses had noticed one man onboard at around 12:30 that same day. The boat is registered as a Swinomish tribal boat.

Coast Guard helicopter crew searched during the daylight hours on Sunday and Monday morning, while Coast Guard boat crews searched through the night. Whidbey Island rescue teams joined the search effort, and Snohomish County Sheriff's Office divers explored the water near the fishing boat and crab pots. A Coast Guard cutter had joined the search by Monday morning. The search was suspended at 10:45 a.m. on Monday, after 21 hours.

Continue reading "Fisherman Found Dead" »

A portion of the lower Mississippi River remains closed Friday after two barges collided approximately 50 miles north of New Orleans.

According to a Coast Guard report, a construction barge being towed by the M/V Alydar collided with a tank barge being towed by the M/V Clarence W. Settoon early Friday morning near mile marker 139 on Mississippi River.  As a result, the tank barge suffered a gash in her side above the waterline that released some of her cargo of Louisiana sweet crude oil.

Continue reading "Barge Collision Closes Mississippi" »