Articles Posted in Fishermen

The U.S. Coast Guard, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the city of Unalaska established a unified command in response to potential pollution from the fishing vessel Akutan near Unalaska, Alaska, Friday.

Personnel from Coast Guard Sector Anchorage, the State of Alaska, the city of Unalaska and Resolve Marine Services, a salvage and repair company, are coordinating and overseeing the removal of environmental hazards, including anhydrous ammonia and various petroleum products onboard the fishing vessel Akutan.

The unified command determined the steps taken by the vessel owner and operator as inadequate to prevent a potential pollution incident. The approximately 166-foot fishing vessel began transiting to Dutch Harbor from Bristol Bay earlier this month. Due to various mechanical issues the vessel anchored in Captains Bay where it remains, deteriorating.

Fishing vessel, the 48ft Pura Vida and its three person crew is being towed by a Coast Guard boat crew in 6-8ft swells with an estimated time of arrival to the Columbia River of 6 p.m., Tuesday.

Tuesday morning the commercial fishing vessel Pura Vida reported it was taking on water 66 miles west of Tillamook Head. Coast Guard and Good Samaritan vessel Western Edge delivered a total of three dewatering pumps saving the boat and the crew.

The Coast Guard had issued an urgent marine information broadcast requesting assistance from mariners in the vicinity on behalf of the crew of the Pura Vida, which was answered by multiple commercial fishing vessels and two U.S. Navy warships.

A crewman suffering chest pain and symptoms of a stroke was hoisted from the F/V Kindred Spirit Wednesday in Stephens Passage near Port Snettisham.

The Coast Guard crew hoisted the crewman safely and transported him to Juneau for further medical care.

The hoist was reported as “one of the most challenging we have done” due to the vessel configuration and the conditions at the time.

A biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game raised the alarm that the 43-foot gill netter Transit was disabled in the surf and taking on water. The master of the Transit shot off red flares and stayed with the vessel. Two good Samaritan vessels arrived on scene to render assistance but were unable due to surf conditions.

A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued the man from the fishing vessel approximately 14 miles north of Port Moller near Kodiak Island, and transported him to Port Moller.

“This mariner aided his rescue by wearing a survival suit, using a signaling device and staying with his vessel,” said Lt. Dan Hendricks, command duty officer for the 17th District. “Those three elements combined with the prompt notification by the Fish and Game biologist allowed us to remove him from harm’s way.”

Good Samaritans Calista Marie crew assisted with the rescue of the captain and three crew members from the capsized fishing vessel Grayling in the Kupreanof Strait near Raspberry Island, Monday.

The crew of the Calista Marie arrived on scene and rescued one crewman from the Grayling, as the Grayling’s skiff driver rescued the master. A Coast Guard aircrew diverted their helicopter when they observed the captain of the capsized fishing vessel Grayling jump into the water to assist the fourth crewman. They noted he didn’t hesitate to jump into 47-degree water to save his crew

The captain of the Grayling was able to pull one of his crewmen safely onto the Grayling’s purse seiner skiff and initiate CPR. The Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk crew then transported him to awaiting EMS at Kodiak Municipal Airport.

The Destination and its six crew members were lost February 11, 2017, while fishing for Opilio crab northwest of St. George, Alaska. The wreckage has been located by Two NOAA ships, en route to scientific missions in Alaskan waters, at the request of the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation.

NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson used its multibeam echo sounder to search the area around the last known position of the Destination. Then the NOAA Ship Fairweather, used its multibeam sonar, designed for seafloor mapping and object detection, to locate the Destination in approximately 250 feet of water.

With the wreckage and debris field located by NOAA ships, a U.S. Coast Guard dive team aboard Coast Guard Cutter Healy will use a remotely operated vehicle to investigate the wreckage later this month. Imagery from the ROV will provide visual confirmation of the wreck site and become part of the Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation, which holds its public hearing August 7-18 in Seattle.

A fisherman with heart attack symptoms was flown off the commercial fishing vessel Kandi Dawn 75 miles offshore of Lincoln City, Oregon, early Tuesday morning. The fisherman was delivered to the Level 1 Trauma Center at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.

The call for help came in at 1:30am, the helicopter arrived on scene at 3:41 a.m. and the patient was safely hoisted and transferred the patient to OHSU for further care by 5:50 a.m.

The captain of the fishing vessel Coventina reportedly fell in the fish hold, injuring his ribs and showing signs of shock. A relief captain took control of the vessel and navigated to Stockdale Harbor on the northwest side of Montague Island.

A Coast Guard helicopter crew deployed to Cordova, Alaska, medevaced the captain from a beach, rather than direct from the F/V because of it’s configuration, in the vicinity of Prince William Sound, Alaska, Saturday. They brought the injured captain aboard and transferred him to Cordova where local emergency medical services personnel were waiting.

F/V Deceptive C grounded in Stikine Strait, approximately 17 nautical miles from Wrangell, Monday evening. No injuries reported.

Responders from Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Ketchikan led the response and worked with Coast Guard Sector Juneau and ADEC to mitigate the pollution and eliminate the potential for further environmental impact.

MSD Ketchikan opened the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and hired Power Systems and Supplies, a contracted Oil Spill Removal Organization, to clean the discharged diesel fuel and to remove any oil products and hazardous materials from the Deceptive C. Approximately 3000 pounds of oily waste and debris was recovered from the grounded vessel.

A crewman aboard the Island Enterprise suffered a severe injury to his index finger. The Coast Guard duty flight surgeon recommended a medevac as the injury was deemed potentially limb threatening.

An aviation crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Sherman medevaced a 33-year-old man from the fishing vessel Thursday morning approximately 152 miles north of Dutch Harbor. The man was hoisted safely in 35-mph winds, 8 to 10-foot seas, and transported to EMS in Dutch Harbor.